Hello Jonathon
by Lingren
Summary: Jack is ordered to attend a seminar and social event with his team that he desperately wants to avoid like the plague. Sam and Jack pairing as always.
1. Chapter 1

_**I know I informed you all that I'm not writing under this name any longer, (see LetitiaRichards) but I wanted to post some of my past stories for anyone interested in reading them if they've missed them.**_

_**A/N: 1...**__ I know there are two different references in the series, stating that Jack's real name is either John or Jonathon; I'm not really bothered whichever it is, but the latter suited this situation better, so I went with that to cause less confusion later as you will see if and when you read this. Religious quote is from Romans 12.19 in the Christian Bible._

_**A/N: 2...**__ I had a review for this the other day and it reminded me that I never did upload it onto this site, so here it is, updated and corrected. For those of you who have read my story __**JUNIOR**__ you will know that this story takes place a few years before that story, and contains the same characters – plus a few more from my own imagination._

Title: **"Hello Jonathon!"**

Author: Lingren.

Category: **AU**, Drama, Humour? Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Romance.

Pairings: Jack/Sam Established.

Season: 5, Just after an unsuccessful mission immediately following 2001.

Spoilers: Chain Reaction, 2001

Warnings: My attempt at humour.

Summary: Jack is ordered to accompany his team to a seminar and social event that he desperately wants to avoid like the plague.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1. No copy-write infringements intended. Just borrowing the characters for a little fun, fantasy and imagination.

Chapter One – Orders Are Orders!

The ringing of the telephone jangled on his nerves causing his headache to notch up a few more decibels.

Jack O'Neill dropped the hand that was massaging his throbbing brow and picked up the receiver with a sigh.

"O'Neill!"

"Colonel! My office, now!" General Hammond barked in his ear.

Jack quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, cringing in pain at the loudness of the General's annoyed tone.

"Yes sir!" he replied meekly. 'Okay? What has him in such a foul mood?' he wondered. What had he done, during the last 4 or 5 hours since he'd been released from the infirmary, that could possibly cause his CO to sound so ticked off with him? Then it hit him.

'Damn!' The seminar.

'Crap!' Daniel must have dropped him right in it.

Jack stood up wearily as he replaced the phone onto its cradle and sucked in a huge breath, holding it for a moment before he released it in a rush. He really, really didn't want to go to this function, but somehow, things were conspiring against him and he couldn't come up with a viable excuse to get out of it. Daniel of course, had jumped at the idea of escorting Sam there, his enthusiasm spilling over into excitement.

So now what was the problem?

"Oh!" He sighed unhappily. He knew exactly what it was, even as he thought it over. Maybe he should have asked his CO if it was okay before he'd said anything to his team-mate.

Too late now! Hammond sounded... 'Damn!'

Jack limped along the corridors as slowly as possible, playing on his injuries as much as he could get away with. He had been hoping that Janet Fraiser hadn't been so willing to release him from the infirmary just yet, but no such luck. The one time he really, really wanted to be kept in there, she went against the grain and allowed him to leave his bed ready for light duties, and had given him her blessing to attend the Seminar. He was so sure that she was in collusion with the General against him.

On reaching Hammond's office, he knocked on the open door, waiting for his Commander to acknowledge his presence.

General Hammond looked up, taking in the battered appearance of his 2IC. Jack leaned against the doorframe, accentuating the need to prop himself up on something just to keep him upright. With his left arm still nestled in the light blue sling around his neck; his face still showing the remnants of the bruises from his last desperate escape from unfriendly natives; he really looked the epitome of the wounded soldier.

According to Daniel, when he'd finally, belatedly, understood the reasons for the sudden attack, the meeting with the natives had all gone pear-shaped the moment Jack took his cap off to scrub a hand through his short hair. They apparently had an inborn aversion to his grey hair because somehow in their warped mythological past, it represented the evil one. One whom they drove from their land with rocks, clubs and pointed sticks; and all unfortunately to Jack's detriment.

The rest of his team had returned unscathed, though rightly rattled at their hasty exit.

Hammond raised a hand and beckoned him in.

"Come in Colonel. Take a seat!"

"Thank you sir."

Jack limped in and eased his abused body into the comfy chair, sighing in relief.

"Still sore Jack?"

"Ya think?" he quipped, bringing a smirk to Hammond's lips.

"Dr. Frasier says you're fit enough for light duties now, so that does include sitting in a chair listening to an afternoon of lectures Jack..."

"At any other time I would be more...or less, willing sir, but does it have to be this one?" he begged. Did he just whine? Nope! Jack O'Neill never whined. Begged maybe, but he'd never whine. Would he?

"In this instance, yes it does son. Your name was specifically mentioned in the memo from the Whitehouse," Hammond said with a wry grin, knowing how much Jack hated to sit through one lecture, let alone several in one afternoon and evening. "I understand there's to be a buffet afterwards...with beer," he added as if that fact alone might help persuade Jack into actually agreeing to go.

Jack grimaced, playing his trump card.

"That's not gonna happen General! Doc's forbidden me to have any alcohol sir. She said it wouldn't mix well with my medication!" he groused, hoping that it might dissuade the General from making him attend the whole damn lecture farce.

General Hammond sighed regretfully; he'd forgotten that little detail.

"I also understand you tried to persuade Dr. Jackson to take your place?" Hammond had gotten down to the real reason he was a little upset.

Jack felt guilty. It had been a desperate attempt on his behalf to get out of attending what could very well turn out to be not only the most boring but also the most disastrous seminar ever.

"Yes sir, I did," he admitted slowly. "I though that Daniel would be more suited to escort Carter. He actually 'likes' listening to all that cra...em...stuff, sir."

"You've had your orders Jack. I don't take too kindly to my orders being undermined."

"No sir. I'm sorry," he apologised with a sigh, "I didn't mean any disrespect by it General. I just didn't expect to be leaving the infirmary so soon."

Hammond smirked at that, knowing his quiet word with the good Doctor had made her revise her precautions. Especially knowing that Jack was going to be seated the whole time and accompanied by his team-mates.

"Actually it was a good suggestion Colonel. In fact Dr. Jackson came straight to me with his concerns and when I explained everything, he asked if he could go anyway. When I enlightened him that possibly you were only fishing for an excuse to get out of going, he was a little put out, shall we say."

Hammond was satisfied when Jack's head shot up from studying the floor.

"I was...em...I mean, I was? Fishing sir? Who me?" Jack gulped, trying hard to look innocent, but the General knew better. 'Oh man!' Jack sighed. 'I wish I _was_ at my cabin fishing!'

"Yes Jack. You were! There is no valid reason whatsoever that I know of, as to why you should not attend this function. This is not a simple invitation Jack. It's a direct order from the President himself. I had no part in this, I swear," Hammond replied assuredly. "If it was up to me...well, let's say I wouldn't be sitting here trying to coerce you into attending."

"Yes sir, thank you sir. I understand that now General."

Jack really was desperate to avoid this. However, Hammond had his orders from above. Someone really wanted Jack there. Who it was, Hammond couldn't think of anyone in particular, and he didn't really want to know either, but it was his job to see that his 2IC did form one of the party from the SGC that was to attend. Sam Carter was also a guest speaker, so naturally why not let all of SG-1 go, despite only Jack being ordered to attend?

"Can you explain to me," Hammond asked curiously. Something had obviously spooked his second and he would like to why that was the case. "just why it is that you're trying to avoid this Jack?"

Jack paused before answering. He really didn't want to go into any details and he certainly wasn't going to explain the real reason either. It would sound so pathetic to anyone else. The General was sure to think him more than just plain stupid.

"No sir, I can't. It's...I really do hate sitting through lectures General, you know me," he pleaded, trying to get it through to his senior officer that he needed an out. "Unless it's for a mission, I..."

"There is no way out of this I'm afraid Jack. You will be going!"

Jack blew out a harsh breath and slumped back in the chair.

"Yes sir!" he sighed.

"All ready sir?" Sam asked brightly.

She was in the locker room helping to ease him into the Jacket of his dress blues while trying to avoid jostling his wounded shoulder. She helped him to replace the sling once more and then handed him his peaked cap.

"No!" he pouted sullenly, but Sam just smiled and pressed a finger to his lips, blowing him a kiss.

The pout morphed into kiss in reply, and then a grin when the finger disappeared.

Sam stood back and checked him over, making sure he was presentable and taking a moment to admire him in his dress blues. God...he was sooo damn handsome when he was wearing his uniform, she sighed.

Back in 2IC mode once more, she continued...

"Personally, I can't see why you're so set against this sir. Professor Neill is a widely respected authority on Cosmological Physics and is well known for his Theoretical..."

"Ack!" Jack held up his finger to stop her. "Stop right there Carter!" he ordered. "I know all about it! Daniel keeps ranting and raving on, singing the man's praises. I couldn't care if he was the last professor..." he swallowed that thought harshly, closing his eyes briefly as if in pain. He didn't mean that, he knew that he didn't. Couldn't. "I just don't need you to lecture me on this, okay? It's bad enough that I have to sit through his 'waffle' tonight. I sooo do not want to hear any hero worship from you either."

"You've heard of him?"

"Oh yeah!"

Sam opened her mouth to ask where from, but Jack shook his index finger at her, silently telling her not to pursue it.

"I just thought that you might have been interested in the subject sir," she managed to say, ignoring his deepening frown. "I know you love all that stargazing. And then, I am one of the speakers too!" she replied with a grin. He would have to hear her lecture on Astrophysics as well.

"Yes. And?" he asked narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Nothing sir, unless you're going to wander off and find the men's room while I'm giving my address."

Jack glared archly at her, hurt by her insinuation that he would behave so pettishly during her own lecture. Professor Neill's maybe, but not hers. He loved the sound of her voice, even if he believed she was sure that he didn't have any idea of what she was saying most of the time.

"That's a little below the belt, don't ya think Carter?"

Sam just grinned.

"There's always a first time sir!"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, a first time you might actually _listen_...sir," she countered with a smirk.

Jack couldn't help but laugh in reply. He loved it when they could relax in each other's company, without the pressure of regulations limiting them. He grinned, indicating the door. It was time to go.

"For you Carter...I'll even try not to look bored."

TBC


	2. Crap!

_Hey! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. I only hope you will all still be reading this by the end of the story. Glad you seem to be enjoying it so far._

_As it's an old one of mine, it is complete so the updates should come every day or so, depending on what I have lined up._

"**HELLO JONATHON"**

by Lingren

_Previously:- _

"For you Carter...I'll even try not to look bored."

Chapter 2 – "Crap!"

The nearer to the venue they drove, the more nervous Jack became. He squirmed restlessly in his seat; his fidgety fingers kept straying to his tie, tugging at it, straightening it; or perhaps he was just trying to stop it from strangling him. He pondered that thought and inwardly grimaced, that maybe he would be less nervous about facing the Goa'uld than this.

"Jack!"

"What?"

"Would you quit doing that?" Daniel demanded. "It's driving me to distraction."

Jack fisted his hand to keep it still; his knuckles showing white as he fought to control his nerves.

"What's wrong with you? I don't think I've ever seen you so nervous before. Anyone would think you were getting married!" Daniel laughed as if that idea was preposterous. Sam giggled too but deep down she wondered if he was this nervous when he'd actually married Sara.

Jack's head hit the back of the seat and he sucked in a shaky breath, muttering half heartedly.

"What?" Daniel and Sam asked together.

"I said, it's more like my funeral," Jack repeated through gritted teeth.

"It's just a lecture Jack! Or two; or four or five."

Jack cast a withering look at his Archaeologist then closed his eyes, resting his head back again, whispering a silent prayer.

Daniel and his team-mates exchanged wry grins and shrugs. This was a side to Jack that he had kept well hidden. He was normally so self-contained and cool, even under fire. The man with them today was a nervous wreck and it puzzled, yet amused them as to why.

"Who else will be speaking, Sam, apart from Professor Neill?" Daniel asked changing the subject.

Sam unfolded the piece of paper with the seminar's agenda that she'd taken from her pocket. She'd downloaded the list from the internet a couple of days ago

"Well, there's the Professor of course, and myself. Then there's a Professor of Astronomy, a Dr. Andrew Cooper; a Professor Tim Rosenberg, but it doesn't really say what he's lecturing on and some General from the USMC, who's giving a talk on Astrophysics as well.

Jack had rolled his eyes at the growing list of torture laid out for his entertainment during what could well be an insufferably long afternoon and evening, but as Sam read out the last guest speaker he groaned in pain.

"No. No. No. No. Tell me it's not true! It can't be him. _HE_ can't possibly be here too?"

"What?" Sam and Daniel chorused. "Who?"

"Him!" Jack shuddered.

"Sir?"

"Jack?"

"O'Neill? Are you not well?" Teal'c asked solicitously.

"No, I'm not! I'm dyin' here Teal'c. I need to get out of here! Right now!"

"No way Jack. General Hammond told us you had to be there at all costs." Daniel replied firmly.

"Why?" he asked. "Why were 'they', whomever 'they' were, so insistent that I, personally attend?" he asked, and not for the first time either.

Jack completely had his team-mates there. They didn't know why; only that he had to be there. The fact that General Hammond was being unusually vague had bothered them a little, but they'd had their orders too. Jack most definitely had to be there.

Jack gave another little moan as the car pulled up outside the doors, and what they recognised as a strangled sob, sounding like he was really gonna die this time. Jack's team exchanged smirks; they were all behind him in this - behind him, as in, literally forcing him onwards towards the venue's doors now as they stepped from the sleek black sedan marked with the USAF logo.

He sooo didn't want to do this; maybe this would change everything, and not necessarily for the better. He was sooo dead.

He hung back from Sam and Daniel as they entered the main hall, though they wouldn't let him out of their sight, and Teal'c took up a station right behind him, blocking his retreat. He scanned the crowded room for any signs of the Professor or the General, both of whom he so desperately wanted to avoid. He knew they were here somewhere, and he would do all in his power to avoid them; though that might be a difficult task with two members of his team dying to meet at least one of them and maybe both.

He espied the General easily. Just about ten years his senior, the man's now thinning mop of white hair could be spotted a mile away. Another reason why he had stood out among the people in the small group gathered around him was because of his commanding height. At 6' 4", he stood head high above most of those with whom he so casually chatted.

It wasn't that he was too tall, just that he liked to surround himself with shorter people; people that would have to look up to him whenever he was around, and those whom he felt he could intimidate better. He strutted proudly in his Marines uniform, the stars on his shoulders gleaming brightly. A stiff-backed General who was so not to be messed with.

Jack shepherded the rest of his team as far away from the man as he could, trying to hide himself behind one of the columns that supported the ceiling. He glanced around, trying to look casual, but he really wanted to see where the Professor was, so that he could avoid him too. He practically pushed Sam and Daniel in the opposite direction much to their exasperation.

He thought he'd succeeded in avoiding everyone, but a cry of excitement had his head spinning round. To his consternation, he heard Sam exclaim that she'd spotted the Professor across the other side of the room. She and Daniel headed off towards him. Jack paled and stood fast, rooted to the spot, only to receive a raised eyebrow from Teal'c, in perplexity.

"Are you truly unwell O'Neill?" he rumbled with concern.

Jack swallowed and closed his eyes. He could use his injuries as an excuse, but that wouldn't be fair to the rest of his team.

"I'm fine T. Let's go find the others," he ground out, filled with foreboding.

He reluctantly moved off, deliberately slowing his pace as he followed the path that Sam and Daniel had already carved through the noisy throng. They were about to reach his nemesis when an announcer called them all to take their places, ready for the lectures to begin, and the ageing Professor was hurried away by one of the staff just before Sam or Daniel could attract his attention.

Jack released a huge sighed with relief, though he did see the disappointment on their faces and knew that he wouldn't be so lucky after all the lectures were finished.

The front half of the room had been given over to rows of seats, and they had began to fill up with an eager audience.

He headed for the back row, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the stage, but his friends weren't listening to his inner turmoil and dragged him protesting towards the front row, directly in front of the podium.

"We have to get as close as possible sir. I don't want to miss a thing."

"Sam's right Jack; if we sit back there, we'll never hear anyone, at least not every word. Besides which Sam's a speaker too! She has several seats put by for her in the reserved row."

"This is gonna kill me guys!" he muttered under his breath. The comment went unheard, though Teal'c once again gave him a puzzled look. 'Crap!' he'd forgotten just how acute Teal'c's hearing was.

"I sense no danger present O'Neill! Is there some reason as to why you should receive a fatal injury whilst here?" Teal'c asked, perplexed.

Jack offered him a weak smile and a shake of his head.

"It's just an expression big guy. No problem!" he gulped, hoping that he could escape the eyes of the speakers at all costs.

He was more or less pushed into a seat, where he slumped down as low as possible, receiving odd looks from both Daniel and Sam who sat either side of him and shrugged at each other, still wondering what had gotten into him today. Teal'c blocked his escape route on the other side of Sam, nearest the exit. There was no way he could leave without drawing attention to himself in the process; which was the last thing he needed now that everyone was sitting quietly.

Sam leaned towards him, their shoulders clashing awkwardly. He held in the wince as it hurt, because she had obviously forgotten about his injury in her enthusiasm.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy this sir, if only you would give it a chance!" she whispered, regardless of his groans.

"I don't doubt that Carter! It'll certainly be an eye opener. I guarantee it!" he replied, drawing a few annoyed 'Shhh!' noises from behind them.

He turned away from Sam to face the front again, rolling his eyes at being told to be quiet. Anybody would think he was a little kid at the movie theatre! He brought his good hand up to hide at least half his face... maybe if he didn't look, they would ignore him and he wouldn't be able to see the recognition in the faces of either the Professor or the General when they spoke from the stage.

He risked a quick peek, studying the little group sitting on the dais, thankful that only the professor was sat there, half hidden from view, waiting for his introduction. The General must be elsewhere; out back he hoped.

He closed his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath, steeling himself to face the music.

He almost leapt from the chair in surprise when someone from behind clamped a hand onto his injured shoulder, making him wince in pain; holding him there with a firm grip. He couldn't look round to see who it was because of aggravating his injury further. Then a voice whispered in his ear.

"Hello Jonathon! You know, sitting like that is a disgrace to your uniform 'Colonel'," goaded the chilly voice, full of reproof and strongly emphasising his rank. "You'd never have gotten away with slouching like that in the Marines sonny! Not under my Command!"

Jack gulped, cringing inwardly when the hand dropped away from crushing his bad shoulder, and then rolled his eyes again for what seemed the hundredth time that day. He sooo recognised that voice. Without acknowledging the man's presence, he pushed himself upright to sit straight and stiff backed, automatically pulling his tie straight again, then sucked in a deep breath to steady his nerves. Thanks to the General his shoulder was now throbbing in time with his persistent headache; the pain from which was mounting by the minute. Luckily for him, his friends were watching the stage and not him.

He now knew where the General was sitting. 'They' would know he was here now, and he also knew for a certainty that there was no turning back. 'They' would make a beeline straight for him afterwards.

"You must introduce me to your companions Jonathon. I recognise the Major of course, who wouldn't? I don't recognise the others though," the voice continued, though the hand had thankfully kept off his injury.

Jack swallowed again but before he could think of a snappy retort, the afternoon's host stood up and launched into his opening address rendering the opportunity too late.

TBC


	3. The 'Eyes' Have It

_Well, thank you so much again for all your wonderful reviews. Happy to know that you're still with me and enjoying this._

_To make a few things clear to some of you who've asked..._

_1) Jack and Sam are in love, they've talked about it to each other in my AU, but haven't yet crossed that line, though they desperately want to._

_2) Yes, the team were probably well aware of Jack's hidden intelligence, but had yet to see any prove positive in action as it were._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Jack swallowed again but before he could think of a snappy retort, the afternoon's host stood up and launched into his opening address rendering the opportunity too late.

Chapter 3 – The 'Eyes' Have It

All through the first lecture Jack was fully aware of the General behind him, breathing down his neck. It made him feel distinctly hot under the collar, and more than once either Daniel or Sam would cast him an irritated glance when he kept fidgeting with his tie, or playing with the cap in his hands.

"Are you alright Colonel?" Sam asked after he'd swept a restless hand through his hair for the umpteenth time. The first lecturer had just finished, and she'd taken the opportunity to speak with him.

"No!" he whispered back fiercely.

She quickly cast him a worried look, but her attention was torn from his seeming distress when the speaker introduced the next guest lecturer.

"It is now my pleasure to introduce to you the eminent Professor, John Neill, a retired lecturer from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities."

There was a round of polite, but enthusiastic applause as the professor took his place at the lectern and then launched straight into his address. Jack hid his face as well as he could this time by keeping his face covered with his long fingers, but also trying hard not to look as if he was.

Jack cast a sideways glance first at Daniel and then at Sam, always conscious of the man sitting right behind him, and saw that both she and Daniel were absolutely enthralled by the Professor's spiel. Teal'c on the other hand had looked merely politely interested, but kept giving him sly looks. Jack closed his eyes and droned the address out, and kept his thoughts on a certain blonde Major who was seated right next to him. He knew without a doubt that he would have a lot of explaining to do once they done here.

All these years he'd managed to keep his secret safe, but now it looked as if that effort on his behalf was all for nothing now. Soon they'd know the truth about him. He wondered if it would change things within the team? With Sam? He sure hoped not, he'd been more than happy with the way things were.

It seemed like only a few minutes before Jack was taken by surprise when the sudden burst of loud applause snapped him from his reverie. He automatically joined in, thanking god that bit was over and done with. He risked a quick glance up at the stage and caught the grin of recognition that was sent his way. He was sure that the Professor's little wave was meant solely for him, and not for Sam. He swallowed harshly again, hoping that the rest of his team hadn't seen it.

Crap! They had.

And they had all turned towards him with puzzled faces as the applause died down. He shrugged, trying hard to ignore them; instead feigning interest in the words of the afternoon's host.

The next speaker on the list was Sam and she was duly called to the stage. Listening to her was no problem for Jack when he 'personally' wasn't on the receiving end of one of her long-winded explanations. He could listen to her voice all day and still not grow tired of it; just so long as it wasn't her usual technobabble.

She hurried up the steps towards the podium and he could almost imagine all the envious looks she was earning from the other women present; god, he thought proudly, she was so beautiful. And of course there would be the ogling from practically every man behind him too, to which he wasn't sure whether he should be jealous, or just so damn lucky that she loved him.

He _was_ just so damn proud of her. Proud that she was so clever; that she was part of his team; and that she was his for the asking. Things were at an impasse though. There was no way he would ask her to give this up, and his retirement wasn't on the agenda for the foreseeable future. Yet. Unfortunately, that next step would have to wait.

He sat and tried hard to listen, honestly, but somewhere along the line, he'd lost the thread, and so instead just concentrated on the sweet cadence of her voice as it filled the hall.

Sadly, before he knew it, it was over and she was back to sitting beside him once more.

She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear.

"You're improving sir. I didn't see your eyes glaze over once."

He shot her a tiny pout but then spoiled the effect by grinning.

"Me? Never Carter. You're just so damn interesting."

Sam smirked, just managing to stifle a giggle.

"Yes sir," she said with exaggerated seriousness, giggling quietly anyway.

"No giggling Major," he ordered sternly, still smiling.

Jack relaxed a little when the next speaker prattled on for almost an hour. He yawned with boredom and closed his eyes, dropping his head down to rest his chin on his chest.

He woke with a start during the applause, and found himself slumped in his chair again. He slid upright and then 'that' hand landed on his bad shoulder once more. He sucked in a pained breath, holding it there against the agony as the voice rang in his ears one more time.

"I do hope, Jonathon, that you won't 'snore' during my lecture. I shall be watching you, so you'd better damn well stay alert!" The hand released its grip.

Jack shuddered and released his breath, slumping in defeat. This was so not fair! Why was he here anyway? Was it really imperative for him to have to come to this? And who the hell had demanded the President to make sure that 'he' of all people attend this...charade?

"And now Officers, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is indeed fortunate that we have here today another great scientist to talk to us. Will you please welcome General..."

The introduction was cut short as Jack slumped over on the side of his seat, leaning against Daniel, and groaning in pain. It had the desired effect as the full attention of all members of his team rested solely on him instead of the General. He waited for a moment until the applause died down and then relaxed before straightening again.

"Sir, are you sure you're okay?" Sam had asked doubtfully, trying to keep her voice down and level. He'd almost had her panicking because Janet had said he was well enough to attend this seminar.

"It's okay. I'm fine now. Shoulder was a little painful for a minute there," he explained, trying hard to look innocent, though it wasn't an outright lie; thanks to the General's more than firm grips earlier in the meeting.

Daniel felt he needed to hold him there for a moment, looking deeply concerned, but Jack waved him off none too patiently.

"It's okay. It's gone. I'm fine now... gonna listen okay?" he hissed softly in the silence and looked up to see the General glaring straight at him. He coughed to clear his throat again.

Now Daniel really was worried. Jack was actually 'volunteering' to listen to a lecture? He was tempted to feel his friend's brow for a temperature, but Jack would only create a scene if he tried that on him at this point. With one more sideways worried glance at his friend, he turned his attention to the speaker.

Jack now had to sit up straight and actually listen to the General as he spoke about a subject dear to Sam's heart. From the podium the General had him in his sights and kept him on his toes by throwing the odd questions to the audience, but in particular, Jack's way. He was compelled to answer of course, which shocked the rest of his team when he answered correctly. 'Has he really been listening?' they all wondered feeling shocked by this strange afternoon's turn of events.

All too soon the General's speech came to an end, and during the round of polite applause Jack quickly took the opportunity to limp out to the men's room, hoping to avoid the questions he knew his team would be dying to ask him. The longer he could avoid doing so, the better.

Meanwhile the team, full of questions about Jack's strange behaviour, headed towards the heavily laden tables at the rear of the hall to help themselves to some food and to mingle with the other attendees and speakers.

Sam herded them towards the drinks table and made sure they had some refreshments because the air in the hall was hot and stuffy by now, and her throat was dry from speaking too. She spotted Professor Neill in the crowd heading towards them, and she straightened up and nudged Daniel's elbow, looking forward to meeting him in person. Daniel looked up from studying the drink in his hands and positively beamed when he came face to face with the Professor.

"Professor Neill, this is a great honour sir," Daniel grovelled excitedly, shoving a hand out to the retired academic who turned out to be rather taller than he'd expected, but only slightly taller than himself.

The scholarly gentleman smiled in response waiting to be introduced, and Sam mused on the fact that he was still a remarkably handsome and well dressed man despite his advanced age. He was certainly no 'absent-minded' Professor slouch, judging by his upright posture and his smart business clothes.

"Now, Dr. Samantha Carter I know from the programme of course. Pleased to meet you Doctor Carter." The Professor responded as he turned to Sam and smiled shaking her hand. "but you sir, are?" he asked turning towards Daniel after Sam had reluctantly released his hand. For some reason she felt at ease with the man and he somehow looked familiar.

"Daniel Jackson, um...Doctor of Archaeology and Linguistics," Daniel replied, shaking the Professor's hand enthusiastically. "...and this is our friend...Murray." He waved a hand towards the huge Jaffa, who bowed regally at the slightly shorter man and gave what passed for him as a smile in the way of a polite greeting.

"It is an honour to meet with such an esteemed personage as yourself Professor Neill," Teal'c said, bringing a deeper smile to the learned man's lips.

"Why thank you Murray," he replied. "Were you not with Jonathon earlier?"

"Jonathon?" Teal'c asked with a slight frown. He wondered who this Jonathon was?

"I'm sorry, of course he goes by Jack these days. I do apologise," Neill responded with a wry grin, looking round for the errant Jonathon. His grin deepened and he added conspiratorially, "I'll bet he's hiding out somewhere. I'm almost sure he's trying to avoid me."

Sam and Daniel exchanged perplexed looks. So...he did perhaps know Colonel Jack O'Neill; and quite well by the sound of things.

"You know the Colonel sir?" Sam couldn't resist in asking; her curiosity getting the better of her. She really wanted to know more about the Colonel because he would never volunteer any information about his past.

"As a matter of fact I do, yes, very well in fact," he replied with a sly grin, "I actually taught him many, many years ago now. He was rather an apt pupil, though his mind tended to wander off into the clouds; quite literally on occasions. All he ever wanted to do was fly. He needed to get his degree and then he could enlist into the Air Force, which he did as you well know. He was one of my brighter students I'm pleased to say, and I'm actually quite proud of all his achievements. I always knew that once he'd got through with University, he could go far. If he kept that hot temper of his from boiling over too often."

Sam and Daniel silently snorted at this little piece of information. It sounded so like the Jack they knew and loved; it was now so blatantly obvious that this man knew him really well too. How though? That was the really important question now uppermost in their minds.

TBC


	4. The Truth Will Out

_Hi everyone, So totally overwhelmed by your response to the last chapter. Thank you so much for adding your wonderful comments, it made my day!__Thanks! _

_Hope you all enjoy this update. All will be revealed in the next chapter tomorrow._

_Sorry __**Nighshae**__ - I didn't see your review until just a few minutes ago when I logged onto the net, but here is the next chapter anyway._

_I love to draw out the suspense as you've probably discovered by now. And as always (if you've read any of my past stories you'll know what I mean) there will be some whumping a little later in the story, so hang onto your hats!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Sam and Daniel silently snorted at this little piece of information. It sounded so like the Jack they knew and loved; it was now so blatantly obvious that this man knew him really well too. How though? That was the really important question now uppermost in their minds.

Chapter 4 – The Truth Will Out!

"He's never mentioned to us that he had a degree, let alone that he actually went to University," Daniel couldn't help but state, hoping the man would fill them in a little on Jack's background.

"Ah! Now that doesn't surprise me in the least. He's always been so reticent about his achievements. How long have you known him?" the Professor asked with obvious interest.

"Well, I've known him for nearly six years, and Sam and Murray for about five. We're part of his team."

"Ah! The famous team that he talks so much about."

The incredulous looks on Sam and Daniel's face, was a picture and it was just as well that Jack wasn't there to see it. 'Jack actually talks about them to his old Professor?' they mused. 'Wow!'

The professor was quick to allay any fears they might have had.

"We keep in touch by phone occasionally, but don't worry! I have no idea what you all do. Jonathon absolutely refuses to tell me exactly what it is that he has done over the past decades or more recently, so whatever secrets you hold, they are still a mystery to me. Jonathon would never divulge anything, even as a child he... Ah! There he is. Jonathon!" he suddenly called, spying Jack coming back into the room. He waved him over.

Whatever the Professor had meant, Daniel would have to wait because Jack was coming back and would now surely veto any questions concerning his past.

"Crap!" Jack muttered to himself, cringing slightly as he saw the professor talking to his team over in the far corner, and had beckoned him over to join them.

He gave a pathetic little wave to acknowledge that he'd seen them, then promptly headed for the drinks table to grab a beer, or maybe something stronger if they had it. He really needed a stiff drink to get through this; Janet's instructions on abstinence be damned! There was no way he'd get through this evening without some drink of sorts that was stronger than water, soda or fruit juice.

With his eyes peeled on the crowd; his hand cradling a glass of the finest malt whiskey available over the table here, he just about managed to avoid bumping into the General as he very reluctantly made his way towards his team-mates and the Professor.

His smile was anything but warming when Sam watched his approach; if anything it looked more like a very painful grimace. Sam thought it was because his leg was hurting again; he was limping a lot more than he had when they'd arrived.

"Professor!" he greeted the man with a cool nod and a sort of half smile, before taking a sip of the amber liquid in the glass to fortify his flagging spirit.

"Jonathon, my boy, so formal?" The Professor's eye held a little spark of reproof but twinkled with amusement none the less. "It's really good to see you again, though by the look of you, I'd say that you've been in the wars again."

"I'm fine now, thanks. No problem!" His reply was curt and to the point, not at all as friendly as his team had expected, especially as he was supposed to chat with the man over the phone occasionally.

The Professor looked only slightly mollified but then sighed, as if he'd seen it far too often to be too upset by it and Jack's cool attitude.

"I'm afraid I have to admonish you Jonathon, you haven't come to visit us lately and Melissa is most put out. She gave me strict instructions to reprimand you for your absence. A mere phone call isn't the same as a personal visit you know that my boy."

"No sir, sorry. Been a bit busy lately," he excused himself, but kept his eyes cast down into the golden liquid in the glass he held.

"For the last five years?"

Jack looked up sharply. It was true, he had visited them only on a few occasions since Charlie's death. He hadn't wanted to face anyone right then, and afterwards he'd shut himself off from almost everyone, until the SGC came along, then he just never had that much time to pay many social calls. Saving the world was uppermost in his thoughts these days – along with the woman standing next to him of course.

Jack merely shrugged before he answered smugly.

"Sure. Lots to do. You know how it is. Gotta save world and all that!"

Beside him he heard Sam's startled choke at his bold statement, but the professor apparently took it all in his stride.

"Always trying to save the world! Still trying to be a hero Jonathon?"

Jack coughed uncomfortably. He hated this conversation already, and to make matters worse, Sam startled him with a burning question of her own, though it did take the heat out of the Professor's accusations.

"I didn't know you had a degree Colonel?"

'Crap!' he shuddered. Here it comes; probably the first of far too many.

"You told them didn't you!" It wasn't so much a question as an allegation. "You just had to tell them!"

The Professor merely smiled indulgently at him.

"Colonel?" Sam was shocked at his outburst.

"Jack? It's no big deal!" Daniel stated, worried by Jack's attitude and expression, then tried to diffuse the tension by adding, "So, why didn't you want us to know?" he puzzled. Maybe they didn't know Jack as well as they thought they did? Why did he feel he had to hide all of this information anyway?

Jack sighed wearily and shot a strangled glance at the professor before he dropped his head in defeat and shrugged off the uncomfortable feeling of embarrassment.

"Okay, okay! I just didn't want to steal any of the...limelight from you guys..." he offered as a way of explanation.

"What?" Daniel was getting worried by this admission. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean Jack?"

"Sir?" Sam gaped in disbelief. Did he just say what I thought he said? She wondered.

"Jonathon actually has several degrees," Professor Neill said teasingly; his pride showing through. "He just doesn't like to admit how intelligent he really is; do you Jonathon?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably again, trying to look everywhere except at his friends. They wouldn't understand, and now things were definitely going to be different back at the base. Why did the man have to go brag about all his stupid diplomas?

"Jack?" Daniel demanded an answer.

With a bravado he didn't actually feel, but could turn on at the drop of a hat, he shrugged nonchalantly and grinned.

"What can I say? You guys are still waaay smarter than me. Hell, I've forgotten most of everything now anyway, it was too damn long ago; too much water under the bridge to recall all that mumbo-jumbo. I needed to gain a degree in order to fly Daniel. That's all I ever wanted. It wasn't an option." He finished with a deep swig from his glass, grateful to feel it burn on its way down.

Sam would understand that, he reasoned inside his head.

"Please, don't you lie Jonathon O'Neill!"

Jack almost choked on his drink and even the others jumped at the bald declaration, though it was said with a smile on the Professor's face and amusement behind his dark eyes.

"Am not!" Jack denied with a pout. "I needed a degree in...Astronomy and..."

The professor interrupted him with a snort.

"Among other things, for example - Physics, Engineering, Math, English... Why not tell them everything Jonathon? Why do you always have to hide your intellect? Are you so afraid that they will think you such a geek and disown you?"

Jack had the grace to blush which by now had left his friends completely and utterly bereft of any speech.

Jack glared at the man with considerable restraint, but sighed and spread the hand with the glass wide in a gesture of frustration.

"Am I not allowed to keep a few secrets these days? Almost the whole of my life has been one big secret and then you come along and suddenly... everything has changed..." he whined.

"Jack. It doesn't matter. You don't have to explain anything," Daniel consoled, "Really. And believe me, nothing's changed!"

"Wouldn't you like to know what he'd worked so hard to achieve?" came another deep voice from right behind Jack.

Jack really did choke on his drink this time and Daniel ended up thumping him on the back to help him get his breath back. The closeness of the voice to his ear had made him jump and when he'd regained his breath, he spun round to come face to face with the General.

"Can't take your liquor eh boy? Then the Air Force obviously doesn't teach you fly-boys to be men, just as being in the US Marines would!"

Jack gasped at the sheer nerve of the officer, and bit back a scathing retort with great difficulty. He fought to calm himself, trying to ignore the snide comment on his choice of career.

The newcomer then nodded to the team and positively sneered at the Professor, laying a firm hand on Jack's injured shoulder once again and gripping it so hard as to make Jack's knees weaken in order to stop him from escaping. 'This was going to be fun,' the General mused.

Jack had to bite his lip against the pain and stop himself from squirming away otherwise the pain would worsen, and he so wasn't going to give the General the satisfaction of seeing him hurting.

"John," the General greeted the Professor with a brief but very firm handshake.

"Joseph!" the Professor smiled back politely though it was not at all an overly friendly one, the team noted.

"So what has poor little Jonathon been up to now then?" the General asked, seeking enlightenment from the startled faces around him, dropping the hand from Jack's shoulder at last.

Jack sucked in a long deep breath. He was sooo dead in the water now. There was no escape and no hope of salvaging the remnants of his privacy either.

TBC


	5. Who's Who?

_WOW! You've stunned me by your reactions to this story so far. I can only hope that you will continue to enjoy it. Have fun with this chapter because he's where we finally learn the truth - at long last I hear you shout! LOL!_

_Thank you so much for all the reviews, and I hope this chapter will answer some of your questions. But, make the most of the fun here because after this the tone changes a little. I hope you'll stay with me for the ride!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Jack sucked in a long deep breath. He was sooo dead in the water now. There was no escape and no hope of salvaging the remnants of his privacy either.

Chapter 5 – Who's Who?

"Uh, General sir!" Sam gulped a greeting to the senior officer, standing to attention but unable to draw her eyes away from the three stars adorning the man's epaulettes or the impressive row of medals on his US Marine uniform. She cursed the fact that she had missed his name during his introduction to the auditorium.

"At ease Major. We're not on parade here," the General rumbled. "So, you know little Jonathon here do you? Well, well, small world eh?"

"Yes sir. Colonel O'Neill is my CO." Sam could almost see Jack cringe in embarrassment from the General's reference to him. She was still puzzled by the fact that her CO wasn't actually knocking the General into next week, but then he wasn't really in a fit state to do so - more's the pity. She took an instant disliking of the man.

"Really? How interesting," he quipped, turning his eyes on Jack with an evil gleam. "You never said you had such an attractive subordinate Jonathon," the General smirked, giving him another nudge.

Sam blushed at the older man's compliment while Jack silently stewed and reddened with growing anger. He sooo did not like this...man!

Daniel couldn't get over how oddly Jack was behaving in all of this. He was usually the one with the smart mouth, but he was alarmingly quiet and restrained, and unusually for him, seemingly embarrassed as well. 'Why was that?' he wondered. What sort of strange hold did this man have over Jack?

The General turned his eagle-eyed gaze onto Daniel who was determined not to actually wilt under it, despite an insane urge to do so. Now he could feel a slight empathy with his friend. The man was so domineering.

"Ah...I...I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. I'm a...a 'friend' of Jack's. We work together," he stressed the word friend, just for Jack's benefit, letting him know that he was still there, still a friend, no matter what the secrets were that he was keeping from them.

"Yes. I've heard of you. You're not in the Air Force I take it? Hey, I know who you are! You're the guy they..."

"Daniel doesn't need to be reminded of that, 'General!'" Jack snapped, interrupting the General's chain of though, and emphasising his rank with what could only be described as venom in his voice. "That was a long time ago, and since then he doesn't have to prove himself to anyone! Least of all you!"

"Whoa! Steady on son. I didn't mean anything by it," the General cried, slapping Jack on his injured shoulder, hard, in a more than friendly manner, and managing to spill the residue of Jack's drink onto the floor. Jack winced again; he was going to be so sore later – among other things! Janet wouldn't be at all happy if he'd torn open the stitches in his shoulder or when she found even more bruises around the wound. And he didn't even want to think about what she would do to him if she discovered he'd been drinking as well.

"You know Jonathon, it's very remiss of you, but you haven't introduced me to your friends properly as yet. I am sure by now they are more than a little curious as to how we know you so well."

Daniel's eyes widened and he saw Jack close his eyes and his shoulders slump again, in what he could only interpret as...defeat?

"Perhaps that's what comes of joining the Air Force instead of the Marines where the real soldiers are," the General goaded once more, nudging Jack again for good measure.

Jack was fairly bristling by now, and he heard Sam draw in another startled breath at his determination to slight the USAF at every opportunity. These two had some strange history, she mused, surprised when Jack continued in his refusal to be baited. It wasn't like him at all to just stand there and take it.

Jack's eyes latched onto hers for a long moment. They seemed to apologise for the General's insults, and they begged for her to ignore the man's glib over-confidence.

Jack remained silent for too long and the General nudged him harder.

"Well Jonathon?"

"It's Jack!" he ground out, unable to stand being slighted again.

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"Is not"

"It is so!"

"Jonathon!" the Professor interrupted with a softly spoken rebuke, his hand gently resting on top of Jack's as it lay in the sling.

Much to the team-mates' surprise Jack suddenly sighed and stopped, giving in to the gentler man's insistence to let it drop. He locked eyes with the Professor and knew he had no choice in the matter.

"Okay, fine, whatever. You know I never go by that name now!" Jack scowled at the General, and sent an apologetic look towards the Professor.

The General laughed loudly, causing Jack to cringe with discomfort once more. None of this was helping to dissipate his growing headache.

"Well, go on," the General urged. "They're all waiting. Anyone would think you were ashamed of our relationship?"

"Huh?" Daniel choked and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head at this comment, making Jack scowl angrily and want to smack him upside of his head. Firstly instead he glowered at the General and then he levelled his intense gaze at Daniel.

"Not that kind of relationship Daniel. Get your mind out of the gutter," Jack snapped in frustration, and Daniel reddened slightly, ashamed of his reaction. He hadn't even thought of 'that' kind of relationship in his naivety.

Jack sucked in another deep breath, and suddenly he felt like he was two years old again. So, with reluctance, he introduced his team to the General and the Professor.

"Uh, kids, you already know Professor John Neill, well, this...this is his brother." He bit his lip as he finished, waiting for the outcry. He wasn't disappointed.

"Oh Jonathon," sighed the Professor with a shake of his head. The General merely guffawed.

"General Neill?" Sam confirmed, shocked that he and the Professor could actually be related to each other, they were so different. Like chalk and cheese.

"Now, that's not quite enough is it Jonathon; and you know it!" the General said brusquely.

All three of Jack's team-mates turned questioning eyes on him and spoke up at the same time.

"Jack?" Daniel kept thinking that he must be lying in the infirmary after a mission gone bad and he was sure this was just one of those nightmares he often suffered from in the aftermath. He had to be unconscious because nothing was making any sense here.

"O'Neill?" Teal'c arched an eyebrow, deeply concerned that his warrior brother had been replaced by a clone or something similar. This couldn't be the real O'Neill, could it?

"Sir?" Sam gasped in astonishment.

"Go on boy! You haven't finished yet," the General prompted, nudging him again. "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!" he joked, laughing as his own quip.

Jack swallowed, hard and rolled his eyes. His team were regarding him expectantly, waiting for a much needed explanation. He sent an undecipherable look to each of his friends. He'd always suffered at the hands of the General, now seemed to be no different despite his age.

"Ahhh...kids...the Professor's...em... 'Neill' thing it's a pseudonym."

"It is?" the two most highly interested team-mates exclaimed, wondering what this was all leading to. Teal'c merely raised an inquisitive eyebrow higher than normal.

"See, there was already a Professor John 'O' Neill on the University's books back when he joined the staff, as the Professor's father, who also worked there at that time, had the same name. So he dropped the 'O' and changed the name to Neill, and it sort of stuck. He's really Professor John O'Neill...as in..." Jack paused to give the Professor a strangled look, but the Professor just stood there smiling expectantly. "...as in my father," he admitted with a rueful smile. 'Oh boy, was he so in for it later!'

His team visibly paled. Their faces turning from disbelief to shock, looking from Jack to the Professor to the General as everything fell into place. Jack wished he had a camera with him, because this was definitely one of those Kodak moments.

"Your father?" gasped Daniel and Sam together, looking up at the Professor and seeing him in a new light. Teal'c merely narrowed his eyes further, pinning them on Jack who stood there and practically squirmed under the depth of the Jaffa's gaze. Feeling unaccountably hot and bothered he was wishing the floor would suddenly open up and swallow him.

Now of course she knew, Sam could see the resemblance between all three of them.

The Professor smiled at his son indulgently, patient as ever with his wayward son.

Daniel saw something else there too when he turned to look at the General. There was real animosity sparking between Jack and his...uncle. As the younger man took it all in, a large hand slapped him hard on the back almost making him spill his drink too, bringing his thoughts abruptly back to the peculiar situation and the over-bearing officer who was, at this point, laughing heartily at everyone.

"Well, I see you finally figured it out son. You're right of course. John really is my brother, therefore I am Jonathon's uncle, though I sometimes get the feeling that he wishes it were otherwise."

By now of course, Daniel's jaw had joined Sam's on the floor, and without conscious thought, Jack lifted his hand and gently pushed Sam's chin up to close her mouth with abject apology as well as affection in his eyes. Their eyes locked; his finger lingered, revelling in the feel of her soft skin, until he was brought back to earth by the General's cough.

Jack dropped his hand like he'd been burned and looked away. Oops! Now he'd done it. There would be no end of questions from his uncle regarding fraternisation now.

Daniel turned disbelieving eyes onto Jack who shrugged with a wry grimace.

"You didn't know?" he asked them with mock surprise.

"Just how were we supposed to know Jack? You never tell us anything about yourself," Daniel grumbled softly. He didn't add, that the only thing they did know about Jack's past, was Charlie's horrific and untimely death, and that Sara and he had been divorced now for a long time.

Jack had to look away, he couldn't stand to see the look of annoyed confusion and maybe a little disappointment too in Daniel's eyes, justified though it was. Instead he looked towards Sam, hoping that at least she would forgive him for all those years of acting 'dumb', but instead of sympathy, he saw only a malicious gleam and a wicked smirk, and he knew with certain clarity that he was gonna pay oh so dearly for his dumb act. He wasn't going to fool anyone, especially Sam, ever again.

"I meant what I said guys. I've forgotten most of it now. Who needs my brain, when I've got you two to figure things out," he blustered shrugging, feigning a bravado he was far from feeling.

"You're not getting away with this Jack!" Daniel said, his voice low and threatening.

The General turned to Teal'c next, liking the size of his muscles barely concealed beneath the sports jacket. They were almost the same height too, though it was the Jaffa who was actually the shorter of the two.

"Don't tell me you're in the USAF too?" he boomed mockingly.

"I am not," Teal'c replied smoothly with a little cock of his eyebrow, looking down his nose with real disdain. He did not like O'Neill's uncle.

"Good. Do me a favour. Join the Marines. Looks to me like you're a real man, and we could do with guys like you."

"I would prefer not to put my skills to use by becoming a 'jarhead', thank you General," Teal'c added with a small dip of his head and then turned away to ignore the now stunned General.

Daniel and Sam sniggered and even the Professor smirked, but Jack just cringed waiting for the inevitable explosion.

TBC


	6. Happy Families

_Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews once more. Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Daniel and Sam sniggered and even the Professor smirked, but Jack just cringed waiting for the inevitable reprisal.

Chapter 6 – Happy Families.

"Good on ya T!" Jack had crowed when nothing untoward had happened, but a nanosecond later he was violently nudged forward, a shove which almost knocked him off his feet from the harsh elbow in his back. The General was finding this whole thing excruciatingly, 'not' funny.

"Ah Jonathon, m' boy, you always could manage to amuse me with your stupid act. Maybe the Air Force likes the old 'dumb ass' routine, but we would never have allowed you to continue with it in the Marines. These Air Force types are too soft by far if you ask me."

"No-one asked you 'sir'!" Jack glowered, almost spitting with frustration and anger. The amusement from a moment earlier dissipating like a hot summer's day mist, and leaving a decided chill in the air.

Jack knew it was going to end up like this as soon as he'd heard the General's name on the list of guest speakers. It was bad enough that his friends had to discover that his father was a public figure, one that they seemingly admired too, but the General had only added insult to injury. It was at times like this, that his uncle was at his most humiliatingly worst.

The Professor reached out a hand to lightly grip Jack's arm, calming him and glaring at the General. The Professor was so different from his brother, Daniel surmised, he was much gentler and more easy-going. Jack, was maybe a cross between them both, or perhaps he took after his mother? But how would he know?

"Jonathon. It doesn't matter any more what Joe thinks. I'm proud of you m'boy! You've done well for yourself in the Air Force. Your mother is too, and she misses you, you know! Surely, that's all that should matter to you?"

Jack sighed and smiled gratefully at his father giving him a little nod.

"I know. Thanks Dad!"

"Now, if you and your friends will excuse us, my brother and I have something to discuss! I expect I'll be seeing something of you at some stage? At least I hope so son. Maybe you can bring everyone up to Minnesota some time, I'm sure your mother would like to meet your friends."

"Ah, yeah, sure." He whispered uncertainly. Not one of his team had wanted to accept any invitations so far, and he still didn't think they would, especially after this farce.

The two older men left them to their thoughts.

Now it was the team's place to look abashed and unable to look Jack in the eye. If only he had said, or maybe that's what he'd been trying to say at the time, because they all knew he wasn't so good at this emotional or personal 'stuff', as he called it. They all felt guilty, even Teal'c, though he had no reason to, as he was the only one to have accepted Jack's invitation so far; and he supposed that he hadn't met O'Neill's parents because he was an alien and it would have been impossible to divulge anything about his past, making it awkward for any conversation that might have taken place.

Jack shrugged and spread his good arm, still looking a little abashed for not warning them beforehand.

"Now you know why I have a problem with scientists," he explained with a wry smile, hoping to be forgiven. He'd also been expecting Sam at least to have a smart come back on that comment, given the history of their very first meeting. Jack waited but whatever it was he'd been waiting for wasn't forthcoming. It left him slightly disappointed that she'd not picked him up on it, but also with himself for not being as open and honest with them as he should have been. If they shut him out now it would be entirely his own fault.

There were a few tense moments when nobody said a word, because no-one was sure what to say to that; and it was several minutes later that Daniel broke the strained silence that had fallen over them.

"So why did you join the AF instead Jack?" Daniel braved the silence, and Jack accepted the question because it apparently meant that they hadn't intended to shut him out altogether.

"Because I always wanted to fly, Daniel. Plus I didn't want to live in his shadow," Jack explained, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at his uncle. "He's not an easy man to follow on from or get on with at the best of times," he sighed bitterly.

He paused, looking down at his feet, then with a wry grin, added...

"Besides which, he's an overbearing pompous ass and there is no way I would ever want to be under his command!"

Sam giggled. She couldn't help it. The man was exactly that, and she would hate having him as her CO on any given day. No wonder Jack never wanted to be a Marine; not wishing to be compared to or associated with the General.

Daniel laughed as well, Teal'c smiled one of his rare grins, understanding Jack's reasons perfectly.

The tension broke between them.

"So, 'Professor'...what's next?" Daniel asked Jack, making Sam start giggling all over again.

"Daniel... Don't!" Jack warned, shaking his index finger at his friend, but grinning too.

"That's gonna take some getting used to sir," Sam grinned.

"Yeah!" Jack sighed as he realised the full implications. His team were never gonna let him live this down. "Just promise me you'll not spread this round the base. I have my reputation to think of!"

"That's okay. It stays right here Jack, though I think you're wrong to hide all your knowledge," Daniel stated with a frown, then added thoughtfully, "Somehow I always knew you weren't as dumb as you made out."

"Strategy, Daniel. People will underestimate me, and then I'll have the advantage over them."

Sam agreed with his tactics, they were perfectly sound if you didn't mind being thought of as just a dumb grunt, which she knew Jack wasn't all along. Her attention was quickly drawn across the room when she heard raised voices. She could see the Professor talking to the General, and it looked as if they were arguing. Jack caught her gaze and looked in that direction too, sighing heavily as he spotted his relatives.

"Oiy!" he groaned, sagging in exasperation.

"Are they always like that?" Daniel asked tentatively.

"Oh yeah. Get them both into one room, then sit back and watch the fireworks."

"There seems to be a considerable difference in their ages O'Neill," Teal'c said, watching the verbal sparring match with a frown.

Jack sucked in a deep breath, ready to tell Teal'c to butt out, but instead he fought against his natural reticence and answered honestly.

"Yeah. Twelve years to be precise. Dad's the eldest of the family, Joe's the youngest. Grandma got her fingers burnt... Well it happens okay?" Jack shrugged. "She regretted it 'til the day she died."

"Black sheep of the family?" Daniel speculated.

"Not exactly. Look can we talk about something else?" Jack pleaded; he really didn't want to discuss the skeletons hidden away in his family's closet. Certainly not here at any rate.

"Like what sir?" Sam asked.

"How about...getting out of here and going for a Pizza? This stuff is crap and I'm hungry," he replied waving a hand at the buffet.

The others agreed. They'd heard all they were supposed to hear, and with a clear conscience they could now leave.

"Look, I'll see you in the lobby kids, I'll join ya in a minute. I have to say good-bye to the old man or else...well, you know," Jack waved a hand vaguely, knowing they would understand.

He limped off towards the warring couple and his team actually felt uncomfortable for him. They turned away and made their way towards the exit going over the most recent events concerning their leader.

As Jack approached, the General turned and stalked away, he looked thunderous as usual when the two parted. It was always the same. Jack knew them so well by now; they'd been arguing over him. His uncle always berated his father for allowing him and his siblings free reign as kids, and Joe, being the strict disciplinarian that he was, couldn't help but criticize his brother for his apparent lack of authority over his family.

John O'Neill wasn't at all like his brother and Jack liked it that way; his father was gentle and mild mannered, using his sharp wits and humour to keep his family in line, and it hadn't done any of them any harm. There was nothing that either he or his siblings had done in the past that had brought shame to his parents. Jack always felt quite sorry for his cousins; Scott and Joe Jr. never had much of a choice in their careers. General Joe would have hit the roof if they hadn't followed him into the Marines. He vaguely wondered what the boys were doing now; if they were still kowtowing to the General's wishes.

"Dad?"

"Jonathon," the Professor turned away from watching his brother's retreating figure, and greeted his son with a rueful smile.

His father and his mother were the only people that Jack permitted to call him by his proper name, after all they had given him the name, even if he did prefer being called Jack. Occasionally they did call him Jack, but it was mostly Jonathon. It was the way in which his uncle had always pronounced it that had Jack riled more than anything else. He shuddered at the memory.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, don't you be concerned about me son. I can handle him."

"I know you can Dad. Look, do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I'm booked into the hotel across the street, so you don't have to worry about where I'm going to stay."

"You don't need to do that Dad," Jack sighed, feeling miserable about the way he'd tried to ignore his father in front of his friends. "You know, there's always a bed for you at my place. C'mon, we'll go get your things, then we can join the gang for a Pizza. You're staying with me."

"But what about your work?"

"I'm not doin' much anyways, not with this," he laughed, indicating his sling. "Light duties only, but I can take a few days off. One of the perks of being Second-in-Command of the base." The more he thought it over the more he decided that he would like to spend some time with his father, and maybe they could persuade his Mom to join them?

They made their way to the main doors where they met up with the others.

"Guys!" he greeted them. "Look, do you mind if Dad tags along too? He's gonna be staying at my place."

The two scientists jumped at the chance to talk further with the Professor, maybe they would learn a bit more about their CO. Plus, it was going to be good to see Jack interacting with his father; it would shed a whole new light on him. He was somehow gentler in the Professor's presence, and it was plain to see that deep down Jack really loved his parent, and vice-versa.

Teal'c turned to the Professor with a smile.

"It would be our privilege sir if you were to join with us," he said, bowing graciously.

Slightly taken aback at the formal acceptance, John smiled in response.

"Thank you, it would be a pleasure, I'm sure, to get to talk to you all informally."

His warm smile reminded them of Jack so much that for a moment Sam was flustered.

The General appeared just as they were leaving. He sent his brother a barely noticeable nod but couldn't resist having a slight dig at Jack in passing.

He went up to Daniel. He'd already known that he wasn't wearing any uniform, therefore taking it that he was just a friend, and leaned over towards his ear, saying in a whisper loud enough for Jack to overhear.

"Get yourself a real job son. The Air Force is for wimps. Join the Marines where the real heroes are!"

TBC


	7. Surprises All Round

_Thanks as always to you lovely readers and reviewers for you very welcome comments. _

_Hang on to your hats, as I'd previously said, because here comes that - angsty part..._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

"Get yourself a real job son. The Air Force is for wimps. Join the Marines where the real heroes are!"

Chapter 7 – Surprises All Round.

Daniel sucked in a sharp breath in surprised shock, especially at the venom the voice held, and shot Jack a quick look of sympathy. He'd made up his mind; he really didn't like that man either. Jack was right; the jerk was a pompous ass!

John saw it coming, but Jack fumed anyway. However, before he could react he felt his father's gentle touch on his arm, forcing him to back down from what could well have been a disastrous confrontation, especially as they were both in uniform. Jack cursed seeing red. He really, really wanted to punch the bastard's lights out and teach him a thing or two, if only he wasn't injured and his father wasn't here to stop him...!

"Jonathon. Let it be."

"Dad!" Jack growled through gritted teeth.

"Jonathon!" O'Neill senior said a little more forcefully, well aware that Jack was furious and ignoring him.

"Jack!"

Jack stopped at the command and turned to his father. When he used that tone of voice and his preferred name he knew when to give in. He patted the hand that held onto him, letting his father know that he wouldn't do anything to cause his father any grief, at least not here in public. At home it would have been a very different kettle of fish.

The group followed the General out of the entrance doors, Jack in the lead still glaring at the General's back. Outside the warmth of the venue it was a dark chilly night. Jack couldn't help the grin when he saw his infuriating uncle was still there, pacing the sidewalk against the cold as he waited impatiently for his staff car to pick him up. He gave Jack a cold glare as the passed but Jack just stood there watching the man, unconsciously taking in the crowd that had gathered outside, waiting for transport too.

A moment later Jack suddenly made his move.

Ripping the sling from his shoulder he tackled his uncle to the ground, taking everyone by surprise, but most of all, stunning the General. They went down in a struggling heap and Jack released a soft groan as something slammed into him, numbing him as he landed.

The sudden shock that his nephew was actually attacking him, had spurred the General into action, and he struggled to get free, cursing him with every insult he could muster, turning the air around him blue.

John O'Neill, and the rest of SG-1, thought that Jack had completely lost his mind when they saw him fling off his sling and surge forward to launch himself at the General. As one they all shouted in alarm.

After what seemed like a lifetime to a suffering Jack, they all dived forward to disentangle the two men.

The crowd were by now focused on the events unfolding in front of them with a morbid curiosity, wondering what was going on. Many didn't notice that one of their number was hurrying away in the other direction, a notebook and camera in his hand, but those that did see the photographer, knew that the news of two of their country's high ranking military officers having a brawl in the street would be headlining the morning's newspapers.

The General yanked his gun from the hidden holster at his ankle, and was waving it at Jack and then at his team who stopped their panicked approach. The threat clear to everyone to stay back. He kicked out, finally free from Jack's grip; ignoring the softly muttered curses and groans which he couldn't hear above his own angry tirade.

Jack just lay there, wheezing; his shoulder hurt like the blazes now the General had viciously kicked it. He'd also hit his bad knee going down and that wasn't helping any. Pain seemed to fill his whole being.

Joe stood up shakily, lashing out again in anger at his nephew, kicking his injured shoulder once more, before quickly turning his back on the lot of them and diving into his car which had just arrived, barking at the driver to, 'Get the hell out of here!' The driver, knowing the General well, didn't hesitate to tear away from the kerb in a squeal of burning rubber, leaving the strange scene behind him.

Daniel was the first to squat down beside the prone Jack, and rested a hand on his back.

"Jack?" What the hell was all that about?" he demanded.

Jack grunted incomprehensibly, keeping his eyes tightly shut to block out the throbbing pain. He hurt just about everywhere.

Sam picked up the discarded sling and Jack's uniform cap and then helped Teal'c in trying to disperse the crowd of disappointed onlookers, who had hoped to see more of a fight, though she desperately wanted to see how much damage that brute of a General had done. She was puzzled too; after maintaining his temper inside the arena why had he attacked the man outside? Nothing seemed to make any sense, because he knew damn well that General Hammond would have his ass for this and it would go much higher than that! It could well end his career in disgrace after attacking a three star General, no matter how much the man had provoked him. A little part of her had always wanted their situation to change in some way so that they might be able to be together, but not like this!

John had stood transfixed by the incident but now rushed over to his son, worried because he had allowed his temper to overrule his better judgement, especially in so public a place. This could have far reaching consequences, and not only with the military.

"Jonathon?"

Jack didn't respond, coughing slightly because it was getting harder to breath; pain had enveloped him from all angles and he felt surprisingly weak and tired. He felt hands carefully reaching under his arms and he was lifted slightly, but it was too much. The pain was too intense and he cried out, almost passing out in the process.

The hands that were holding him lowered him back to the sidewalk once more turning him to lie on his back, his head and shoulders now supported by Daniel's thighs and hands.

"What's the matter Jack?" Daniel gasped, unable to understand what had happened.

John pulled the tie from Jack's neck, and loosened his collar, noticing the short shallow breaths his son was struggling to take.

Jack coughed, rousing slightly, and gasped in pain. His face was pale and sweat broke out in beads across his brow.

"Whe...'s Jo...?" he whispered faintly, then gasped when he started coughing again, screwing his eyes up in agony.

"He's gone. Took off in his car, right after he kicked you Jack. Where did he hurt you?" Daniel demanded, growing angry that the General could be so damn callous; and towards his own nephew too. No wonder Jack had disliked him; he could see why now. Though why Jack had attacked him like this out in public in the first place he couldn't understand, because Jack seemed to be over his anger from when they were in the entrance hall.

Jack gave a slight shake of his head, panting hard, but was unable to find the energy to explain.

Looking on, John couldn't understand why his son seemed so weak. To him, the kicks didn't look that bad, though he knew it must have hurt.

"Jonathon?" he asked worriedly, his fatherly concern instantly knowing something was amiss. "What's wrong?"

Jack turned his head to look over to where his father was, and their eyes locked. Something unspoken passed between them and John bent down to loosen Jack's dress jacket, making everyone gasp in horror. When Jack coughed this time, a smattering of frothy red blood escaped and bubbled at the corners of his mouth.

"Jeez Jack! Why the hell didn't you say something?" Daniel cried, immediately grabbing his handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it against the blood oozing from the bullet hole in Jack's chest, causing him to cough again and groan in agony.

Jack was growing weaker, and darkness was beginning to cloud his vision.

John turned and yelled to anyone who would listen.

"Someone get an ambulance! Now! My son has been shot!"

Sam stopped short in her actions keeping the crowds away, and turned horrified eyes towards the older man. Within seconds she was kneeling down beside her CO, leaving Teal'c and the venue staff to cope with the spectators who didn't want to miss anything.

"Sir? Who did this?" Sam asked anxiously. "Can you tell me what happened?

Jack was almost unconscious by now, his breathing was deteriorating, his lips turning blue and he was in a lot of pain. He couldn't answer the questions; he just couldn't spare the breath.

Sam leaned over him, adding a towel that the concierge had fetched from the venue to help staunch the flow of blood. She laid her palm gently over his cheek and spoke reassuringly to him, telling him he was going to be okay, and that an ambulance was already on its way.

"Take it easy sir. Help's on the way. Hang on in there..." she cried, hoping to keep him focussed, then added in a softer voice for his ears only, "Don't you even think about leaving us...me!"

He peered up into her eyes as best he could, seeing her concern radiating from the now moist blue orbs. He offered her his complete trust in her words of comfort and gave her a weak smile before he slipped into unconsciousness.

When the emergency vehicles arrived the crew stabilised him before rushing him off to the Academy hospital; his father staying by his side in the ambulance, unwilling to leave him under the circumstances. Jack had been shot and the only person around at that time armed with a weapon had been Joseph O'Neill. His own brother, he reflected angrily.

It was quite a while afterwards that the other members of SG-1 could follow, after having to deal with the Police investigations into the incident, and speaking with General Hammond.

The big questions going round in everyone's minds at the time was, what the hell had happened? Why did Jack suddenly attack the General? and why did he then retaliate by shooting Jack? The sheer disbelief that the General would do such a thing was another one of those unanswerable questions, and none of which would be answered until Jack had recovered from surgery. Either way it had been a big shock to their systems. They'd always anticipated either of them getting shot at by the enemy off-world, but never on home turf as it were, and certainly not by one of Jack's own relatives.

TBC


	8. Meeting the Family

_Thanks as always for your wonderful comments. It's a great feeling to receive such glowing reviews. You keep 'em coming and I'll keep right on posting!_

_Here's the next chapter for your enjoyment._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

...Either way it had been a big shock to their systems. They'd always anticipated any one of them getting shot at by the enemy off-world, but never on home turf as it were, and certainly not by one of Jack's own relatives.

Chapter 8 – Meeting the Family.

By the time Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had made it to the hospital, John was nervously pacing the waiting room, desperate to hear any news that was forthcoming. It had seemed like a life-time ago that Jack had been taken into surgery. He just wasn't used to his son being in so much danger as the evidence of his previous injuries had inferred, let alone the possibility of him dying like this. He'd known that Jack had been injured before, several times – the worst he'd known was being when he went missing in the Middle East and dragged his badly injured body to safety across the scorching desert for days. But, this was so much worse, perhaps because it was his own brother that had done this to him.

The waiting seemed endless, and with no word so far on Jack's condition, he couldn't help fearing the worst. He had already phoned his wife Melissa, and she was worried enough to be booking a seat to Colorado Springs on the first available flight.

Daniel brought the Professor some coffee and John accepted it without much thought to his actions, giving Daniel a brief nod of thanks while his mind was still focused on worrying about Jack.

John sat down wearily; it had already been an overly long day. He took a sip of the hot, strong liquid and closed his eyes, hearing for himself the worry in the soft voices of Jack's friends as they talked around him. He was reassured in that Jack had these good people around him because he could tell they were very concerned about his son too.

He watched them interact with each other and knew that Jack was not only lucky to have such friends but from what he had seen, they made a great team, comforting this Major Samantha Carter between them, making sure she was alright too. He'd seen the deep shock on her face and the tears she'd tried to hide, and being as observant as he was, he'd heard her actually beg Jonathon not to leave her. He smiled inwardly realising that she was far more besotted with his son than perhaps she should have been, and knowing that Jonathon had mentioned that she was his second-in-command.

After another excruciatingly long hour, the door to the waiting room opened and everyone, except the Professor who rose a little more sedately, had jumped up expecting to see a member of the medical team, but it was an older military style gentleman who'd entered, and though he wasn't in uniform, he did look the archetypal part, so John sat back down again. He was followed into the room by an auburn haired shorter woman, who was also dressed in an AF uniform. They completely ignored John, easily dismissing him as a relative of someone else receiving treatment in the hospital.

Sam had snapped to attention when she recognised the General as he entered, looking to her for a report.

"At ease Major. What happened to Colonel O'Neill?" he asked with a sigh, his brow furrowed in both concern and bewilderment.

"We're not entirely sure General," she replied smartly, swallowing her own fear and dread before donning the stoical military mask and turning into the competent soldier that she was.

The man's title had startled John slightly, and brought home once more the unimaginable pain of what had happened. Why? He kept asking himself over and over again. Why? Why had Jack started the fight in the first place? And look where it had gotten him! What on earth was Joe thinking about to actually shoot him? If anything happened to Jack, he knew Joe wouldn't be able escape justice for his actions; but then neither would Jack. Either of them would probably lose everything they'd ever lived for, including their pension and credibility. John just couldn't fathom any of it out.

He suddenly found himself facing the rather ample midriff of the General. He started and went to stand, but he found a warm hand on his shoulder preventing him from doing so.

"Please, Mr. O'Neill, don't get up," Hammond said as he took the seat beside him. "I'm Jack's Commanding Officer, Major General George Hammond."

John smiled and nodded, shaking hands with the officer.

"General," he responded with a heavy sigh, "I only wish we could have met under very different circumstances."

"And so do I sir. How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm not too bad, but waiting has never really been my forte."

Hammond smiled slightly in acknowledgement, agreeing that even after all these years as CO of the SGC he still found the waiting for a missing team's return hard to bear.

"I hope the rest of Jack's team are seeing to your every need?" John nodded and Hammond continued. "If there is anything you need, then please, don't hesitate to let me know."

"I'm fine, thank you General. It's Jonathon we need to concern ourselves with." John averted his eyes, looking around the room and seeing the pain of anxiety on the faces of those in his company.

He noticed that the shorter woman had already gone from the room, and John realised, he'd missed most of the conversation taking place while he'd been struggling to come to terms with everything and talking to the General had distracted him.

"You know Jack's a fighter, don't you? He'll pull through this, I'm certain," General Hammond assured him.

"You really think so?" John asked desperately, hanging on to hope.

"I've known him get through much worse, believe me," Hammond laughed sadly.

John's smile was more of a grimace, not knowing whether to be assured by those words or to worry all the more as to what could possibly be termed 'worse' than this and to what incidents the General was actually referring to?

"Oh, I see," the Professor sighed despondently, finally understanding that he would probably never know the answer to his unspoken questions. He well understood military red tape and 'Eye's Only' because Jonathon had already told them about it, and therefore, couldn't say very much about his life in the Air Force. Just that he'd enjoyed most of it. If these people were indicative of the many people his son had worked with, then he could understand why he'd loved his job.

"Does your wife know what's happened? Would you like someone to phone her?" Hammond asked, bring John's thoughts back to the present.

"Yes...no, I mean, I phoned her a while ago. She's arriving on the first available flight, thank you."

"Then let me know when the plane is due and I'll send a car to meet her and bring her straight here."

"Oh, please, you don't have to go to all that trouble," John pleaded.

Hammond patted him on the arm.

"It's no trouble at all sir. Jack's worth it, believe me."

"Really?"

Hammond smiled at the disbelief in the old man's face, and he could see from whom Jack had inherited his own dark eyes. It was like seeing a much older version of Jack. He mentally shook himself and reigned in his scattered thoughts and feelings. This wasn't the time nor place to get sentimental, he had to be strong for everyone's sake. And though his gut was churning full of concern for his 2IC, he was wondering how Jack was going to talk his way out of this one when he'd recovered.

Over the years Jack had become more than just a good friend to him, proving his worth, time and time again in the field. He was the best man for their job, but he'd gradually become more like a son than his subordinate. The man himself was an impossible enigma. His antics never ceased to get him into hot water with everyone, from 'The Powers That Be', right down to the enemy, but damn, if he didn't get under your skin with his dedication, fierce loyalty and outright devotion to duty. He was...just...Jack, and he knew the world would be a hell of lot worse off without the man saving it as many times as he already had.

Before Hammond could think of a suitable reply however, Janet Frasier swept back into the room, heading straight for the General who stood up and straightened his back, ready to hear her report.

"Sir. He's pulled through the surgery okay and is now being installed into the ICU. You can see him for a brief moment if you wish?"

"Thank you Doctor. Dr. Frasier, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. O'Neill, Colonel O'Neill's father. He's been waiting a long time fore news of his son."

"Oh! Hello there," Janet said, shaking the proffered hand. "Let me assure you that he's going to be alright Mr. O'Neill. I'm sure of it. The bullet punctured his lung, but barring any complications he should get over it just fine," she assured him with a big smile.

"Thank you Doctor. I'm pleased to see that my son is in such good hands, and, if I might add, such pretty ones too."

Janet flushed bright red, and couldn't think of anything to say to that. This man could flatter her any day, she reflected, and he was so much like the Colonel too, who could sweet-talk his way out of any situation with those dark eyes and long lashes of his – well almost. She was almost immune nowadays to the Colonel's wiles after patching him up so many times. She glanced over to the General and actually blushed, and all because he was barely managing to hide his amusement at her expense.

"Well, sir," Hammond added, turning back to John. "Perhaps the good Doctor will allow you to sit with your son for a few minutes. I'm sure you're anxious to see him."

"Yes, I am, thank you General Hammond."

Janet smiled, studiously avoiding the General's eye and those of her friends too as she led the Professor out into the corridor. Then through numerous double doors, with many twists and turns until they'd reached the right room. Janet showed him in, explained all the monitors and medical paraphernalia to him and then softly closed the door behind her as she left him to take up his vigil.

Back in the waiting room neither Daniel nor Sam had been able to restrain a snicker of laughter at Janet's shocked and embarrassed face after the Professor's compliment. No wonder Jack was such a charmer, with a father like that, Sam sighed wistfully. Of course she had conveniently forgotten that when she was first introduced to John, she herself had been on the receiving end of his flattery, and was very glad that her CO hadn't been around to witness it.

"Major? Did something funny happen?" Hammond asked, knowing full well what she was laughing about.

"It...it's nothing sir. It was just the Professor's comment..." she began, but Hammond interrupted her.

"Excuse me? The what?"

"The Professor, General," Daniel clarified. "Jack's father is a Professor. He was one of the speakers at the seminar." Which was news to Hammond.

"Indeed, O'Neill's parent should be addressed by his proper title, General Hammond. In the academic world he is known as Professor John Neill. O'Neill, I am sure, would be willing to explain things to you when he has sufficiently recovered," Teal'c added with a hint of amusement in his eye.

"I think that's one of the main reasons Jack didn't want to attend the seminar in the first place General," Daniel added, "He knew his Father would be speaking, and didn't really want us to find out the truth about him."

"Sir, did you know he has several degrees from University?"

Hammond was a little dumbfounded at these small scraps of news. There was no mention of any of this in Jack's records otherwise he would have known.

"But then, that wasn't the only surprise sir. General Joseph O'Neill of the USMC., was also one of the speakers on Astrophysics sir. He is the Colonel's uncle; and the man we believe was responsible for the Colonel's current condition."

Now Hammond really needed to sit down again before he disgraced himself by falling on his ass in shock. So, Jack wasn't as dumb as he made himself out to be! And it was his uncle who had shot him?

Pulling his shredded thoughts back together again, he demanded to be brought up to date with everything that had transpired during that afternoon and evening.

TBC


	9. Whys & Wherefores

_Phew! Sorry I'm late posting today. It's been a little hectic around here, but never mind...it's here now, and slightly longer than the other chapters because I kept you waiting._

_Thanks as always for your wonderful reviews. I love to read all your comments, especially the speculations of what might be happening! Keep them coming, pretty please!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Pulling his shredded thoughts back together again, he demanded to be brought up to date with everything that had transpired during that afternoon and evening.

Chapter 9 – Whys & Wherefores

John sat down in the chair, his face almost as pale as that of his son's. He sucked in a huge breath and held it there, hoping it would calm his frayed psyche, before releasing it as a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes to help rid his mind of the memories left over from the incident, but all that did was to replay it over and over again in glorious Technicolor against the inside of his eyelids.

He'd never had to come face to face with the reality of Jonathon's life in the fast lane. Never had to see his son so sick, and it had come as an even bitter blow that his own kin had caused this. He knew the police were supposed to be questioning Joe right now, if they'd caught up with him, that is. The General was supposed to have caught a flight back to Washington about now. That much he'd already told the Detective who had questioned him whilst he'd been waiting for news. He didn't want to know if they'd managed to find him because right now he could quite happily kill him, himself, especially if the worst were to happen and his son died because of him.

Normally a placid man, John was worried about how Melissa would handle this when she finally arrived. She had always been the stronger of the two, taking things in her stride, and nothing seemed to phase her, but maybe this would be different. This was her Jonathon, her child. Perhaps it would be harder because Joe had been the one to do this to their son. She never could abide the man, and although she tolerated him for all their sakes and to keep the peace, John knew she would have problems accepting this.

There was a scuffle outside in the corridor which made him turn his head. He could hear several people shouting, trying to stop someone from doing something. He sighed and turned back to watch over his son. The only sounds other than that, was the soft hiss and suck of the ventilator, working to help his son breathe while his lung healed. The heart monitor sent green blips bouncing across the little screen, its steady rhythm was in itself a reassurance that Jonathon was doing okay.

Half of Jack's chest was swathed in white dressings, some covering the place of entry, and the rest over his injured shoulder which had been re-bandaged after the stitches had torn away leaving the previous wound bleeding again, and now there were several cuts and more bruises from where Joe had viciously kicked him; his arm lay strapped to his side and across his waist to prevent movement while the injury healed. The sheets had been pulled up to the edges of the dressings giving the staff easy access to the wounds. Tubes and wires ran over him like some dark and forbidding spaghetti, but underneath it all, Jack's body wasn't moving save the steady rise and fall of his chest as the machine did the work of breathing for him.

Suddenly the door was flung open and Joseph O'Neill stood there, gaping in disbelief at his nephew lying so still on the bed, unwilling to believe what they had more or less accused him of. He was immediately grabbed by Teal'c who had come up behind him, both struggled for a minute before a police officer appeared behind them, then General Hammond and Sam followed in his wake. Daniel hurriedly pushed through the men at the door, just as John rose muttering angrily in a fierce whisper so as not to disturb Jack.

"What the hell do you want here Joe? Haven't you done enough damage?" he spat, gesturing to Jack's silent form.

Daniel hurried to take the old man's arm, and help him to sit down once more. John did so reluctantly, his hand automatically reaching out to hold onto his son's long fingers; warm to his touch but far too still for his liking.

Hammond touched Teal'c's shoulder.

"It's okay son, you can let him go," he said indifferently. "According to the Police, they had an even bigger problem now.

Joe shook off the hands holding him, but his eyes never left his nephew and he stepped closer to the bed.

"I never...John, I swear I never did this to him. This has nothing to do with me, honest to god! I swear it John. I'd never..." Joe stated in all sincerity, lost and too shocked to comprehend how it had happened or what it meant for himself.

John sat still, startled by the honest fear he saw in his brother's eyes and he visibly sagged, shaking his head. He looked back at Jonathon, gently squeezing the fingers in his hand and released a solitary tear.

"Then who would do this to him?" he pleaded brokenly to those in the room, but not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know John, but I wouldn't. I know we haven't been the best of..." Joe said hanging his head, feeling guilty at having kicked his nephew when he was down. He really didn't know he'd been shot. "Well, I just couldn't do this; not to him despite our differences."

"So if you didn't do this, then who the hell did?" John cried, growing agitated.

"I don't know. I really don't know," Joe replied in disbelief, and ignoring Teal'c's warning look he began to edge closer to the bed.

Teal'c, Sam and Daniel were reluctantly called outside again by General Hammond, who'd wanted to leave the two brothers alone to talk.

Janet made sure that Jack was okay first before she left them too, saying over her shoulder as she left.

"You can't stay too long gentlemen. I can only give you five minutes, and please don't disturb my patient."

"Thank you Dr. Frasier," John replied without looking, unable to tear his eyes away from his son. "We'll be out shortly."

After closing the door softly, Janet looked back through the square of clear glass, making sure that they were alright, then made her way back to her friends to find out what had happened.

She found General Hammond explaining what had happened when the police has gone to the General's hotel room and had questioned him about the shooting.

"He says he had absolutely no idea that Colonel O'Neill had been shot. It has come as a bit of a shock to him too, as you could see for yourself," Hammond elucidated. "All he recalled, was someone leaping onto him, and he'd automatically assumed that the Colonel had been attacking him. That's why he'd lashed out, and drew his pistol holding everyone at bay, but he swears he never fired it. The Police confirmed that the weapon hadn't been fired. If that is indeed the case people, then we have a real problem on our hands."

"You mean that someone else…? That's why he was ordered to attend, so someone could wait outside ready to kill him?" Daniel was absolutely aghast at the prospect.

"I thought the Colonel said that it was the President who basically ordered him to go sir?" Sam questioned.

"That's true," Hammond confirmed.

"So maybe someone got in touch with the President and persuaded him that it was vitally important that Colonel O'Neill be there," Daniel suggested, pulling thoughts from out of thin air in order to try and explain the shooting.

"I don't think that this has anything to do with the President himself Doctor. He is actually an admirer of Colonel O'Neill. No, there's no way he can be involved in this," Hammond said with conviction. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that the President would do anything so outrageously stupid, as ordering an assassination, especially not involving Jack O'Neill.

"But why Jack?" Daniel puzzled, then an idea came to him and he had to know one way or the other. "He's not done anything undercover again has he General?"

Hammond shook his head in adamant denial, knowing where the young man was heading with his question.

"No son. After that last fiasco with Maybourne's little NID operation, he's refused to undertake any more missions where you, his team, are not involved," Hammond stated categorically. "He was determined he wouldn't put you through that again."

"Then really should we be looking into discovering who exactly it was behind the invitation!" Sam supposed. "Because the way I see it, they are most probably the one responsible for this."

"In the meantime I will contact the President and explain the situation and see if he will actually tell me who it was, if indeed he actually knows."

"But that does not explain why O'Neill attacked General Joseph O'Neill in the first instance General Hammond," Teal'c added concerned. "Perhaps O'Neill was not the intended victim."

"Oh my god!" Sam exclaimed, "You mean he may actually have been 'protecting' the General from an attempt on his life?"

"I believe that is what I meant, Major Carter," Teal'c added.

"That's a possibility. Colonel O'Neill may well have been trying to protect the General, Teal'c, strange as that may seem at this point. But, we all know that Colonel O'Neill would willingly sacrifice himself to save the life of another, even that of a potential enemy."

"Now that sounds more like it. Jack would do that, despite their differences. The General is a part of his family after all," Daniel nodded with agreement. "We all know how protective Jack gets."

"O'Neill was indeed angry with his relative, but I do not think he would resort to such violence, as in a personal attack, especially in such a public place, therefore I do believe it was to save his relation from harm."

"You're right Teal'c. We'd all assumed they, whoever they were, were after Jack, but now you mention this possibility they may have been out to kill General O'Neill, so we'll have to look into it further," Hammond assured them all.

The door opened and the Professor and the General walked in, both looking pale and drawn, and still obviously shaken. Considering his earlier attitude towards Jack, the General now looked genuinely concerned. If anything the Professor looked even older now than when they had seen him during and after his lecture, and the General was supporting his elbow, steering him towards a seat, so it was plainly evident that this incident had taken it's toll on him.

Sam walked over to him and sat beside him, offering him a little comfort while Daniel slipped out for some more coffee for everyone.

General Hammond stepped towards General O'Neill and took him to one side and whispered something in his ear.

"I'm going to go with General Hammond for a minute John," Joe said softly as he spoke to his older sibling. "I'll be back soon." Joe laid his hand on John's shoulder for a moment and gave it a brief pat before he and Hammond left the room.

John had barely noticed his brother's departure, in fact he'd barely noticed anything apart from how sick Jonathon was.

Sam couldn't help herself as she laid her hand over John's and squeezed it in sympathy. She was feeling just as devastated as he was. Though she was more used to seeing Jack hurt, and for the first time, the Professor was seeing a side of his son's life that he'd never wished to see.

He dragged his thoughts back to the present and looked up, smiling sadly at Sam, bringing his other hand over to cover hers.

"Thank you Dr. Carter..."

"No, please, just call me Sam!"

John's smile deepened and he nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you, all of you, for your support. It's hard for me to see Jonathon like this. Though I gather from General Hammond that this is nothing new," he sighed wearily. He was tired. He couldn't recall when he'd last eaten but he wasn't at all hungry.

"Ah...that would be a definite no!" Daniel clarified, handing the older man a fresh cup of coffee.

"I can't understand why he would do that. In all their little arguments and wrangles he's never lost his temper so violently before. I just don't..." John sighed.

"Ah...we don't believe he actually did do that sir," Sam started as gently as she could. "We believe he may actually have been protecting General O'Neill."

John looked startled and confused.

"How so?"

"We believe he must have seen something, a threat maybe, so he leapt onto the General, and pushed him out of the way, taking the shot himself," Sam answered.

"So someone was out there trying to kill Joe instead?" John gasped in astonishment.

"That's what we think might have happened, of course we can't be sure yet, not until Jack wakes up and confirms our hypothesis," Daniel explained.

John closed his eyes and sucked in a huge breath, and then shook his head.

"That sounds like something he would do, rather than starting a fight with Joe. That still doesn't excuse the way Joe lashed out like that though."

"No it doesn't," Sam muttered wholeheartedly.

Janet who had remained silent, listening to their theories, now reached out and took John's wrist, checking his heart-rate.

John smiled up at her with a wry grin.

"Checking up on me too Doctor?"

"That would be right sir. I have one patient in there, I really don't need another one...especially another O'Neill," she smiled brightly when her comment brought a deeper smile from him. She turned to Daniel, "Daniel, do you think you get the Professor a cup of tea instead?" She took the coffee away and passed it to Teal'c who set it to one side. John looked a little beat, and coffee would only make him worse. She wanted him to get some sleep, and he hadn't so much as objected at her removal of his drink.

"Sure. I'll be right back."

"I want you to have some tea rather than coffee, then I want you to rest. It's been a very long day and you're exhausted."

"I'm fine. I don't..."

Janet glared at him in full doctor mode. A glare she had sent his son on many occasions for the same objections; and it made the Colonel back down. She wouldn't take any nonsense from his father either.

"Rest Mr. O'Neill or I will slip something in your tea! I'll have a room made up for you. We'll let you know if any anything develops or when the Colonel wakes up," Janet promised.

John sighed and finally agreed, though he shook his head in amazement. Everyone was too kind and now he could see that his son was in good hands and that these people actually cared about Jonathon enough to include him in that too.

"If you insist Doctor," he sighed again. He really was tired. He'd had a long flight, then the lectures, and now this. It was late, far later than he was used to being up these days, and he could do with a good sleep, but knew that would be almost impossible after such traumatic events. He was also just feeling a little hungry, though he didn't think he would be able to force anything down just yet, not until he knew his son really was okay.

"Good. I'll be back to get you in just a moment."

"Is there anything we can get you?" Sam asked solicitously.

"All my things are at the hotel across the street from the venue. I'll need them if I'm staying here tonight and then I'll be staying at Jonathon's until we know he's okay," John nodded in reply.

"I'll get someone to pick them up for you, so don't you worry about it."

Daniel came back just then and handed John his cup of tea, and Sam another cup of coffee. The third cup he kept for himself, because he knew he wasn't going to rest tonight and neither would Sam. They would spend what was left of the night waiting right there, until they knew Jack was okay for sure.

TBC


	10. Hot News!

_Hi everyone, sorry to have kept you all waiting for this chapter today – bad head and sore eyes giving me problems since I woke up this morning, but finally it's here for you to read. Mistakes are all mine and don't be surprised if you find a lot today. Hope you enjoy reading it anyway!_

_Thanks as always for your super reviews which make my day, and help keep me motivated to keep you reading._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

Daniel came back just then and handed John his cup of tea, and Sam another cup of coffee. The third cup he kept for himself, because he knew he wasn't going to rest tonight and neither would Sam. They would spend what was left of the night waiting right there, until they knew Jack was okay for sure.

Chapter 10 – Hot News!

Teal'c opened the door with his elbow, his hands holding two cups of coffee, and he had a rolled up newspaper under his arm.

"Ah Coffee!" Daniel sighed, rubbing his tired eyes before grasping one of the cups in his hands.

"Thanks Teal'c. How's Jack?"

"He is improving satisfactorily according to Doctor Frasier."

"Anything interesting in the paper this morning?" Sam enquired, happy that her CO was doing better now.

"I believe that the headline will be of interest to a great many people in this nation, specifically to those in your nation's capital," Teal'c replied cryptically.

"Oh? Why's that?" Daniel asked curious.

Teal'c removed the paper from under his arm and held up the front page so that they could both read it. The headline screamed at them from above a large picture.

The photograph had captured the moment Jack had taken down the General, their fall to the ground arrested in mid flight. And the bold caption shook them to the core.

'USAF COLONEL ATTACKS USMC GENERAL!'

Daniel snatched the paper from Teal'c's hands in order to read the report, gasping in disbelief all the way through. Sitting beside him, Sam read it too from over his shoulder, unable to hold back the anger that was burning a hole inside her.

The report read:

'_Do we really expect this sort of behaviour between our own armed forces? How can we as a nation expect warring nations to listen to peace talks when we cannot put our own house in order? Last night outside a very public venue, Colonel Jack O'Neill of the USAF attacked a USMC General in front of a crowded street. The reasons were not clear as to what had provoked the sudden attack, but the Colonel is now recovering in hospital for his pains…'_

The report then went on to cover a lot of ground, damning the US armed forces in general, claiming that this type of behaviour between them was ruining their reputation as one of the world's leading nations. Slamming Colonel O'Neill as a trouble maker; delving into his service in the AF and, asking...

"_How had he managed to reach the exalted rank of Colonel with his chequered record of insubordination and disobedience of direct orders, among other misdemeanours? How could they as a nation expect to train young men and women to uphold this country's code with men like Colonel O'Neill leading them? With this type of disreputable behaviour on O'Neill's part, was it no small wonder that his nine year old son shot and killed himself using the Colonel's personal weapon? Perhaps by learning of the infamous reputation of the Colonel, we should wonder if those reports were in fact true? _"

Little or nothing was mentioned about the General's own unforgivable behaviour, concentrating mostly on the Colonel's, so called, unwarranted actions and dragging up the past in a total fabrication of lies. There was no mention of Jack getting shot or that because of which he could have died, in what was a probable attempt to save the General's life. In short it looked as if someone had tried their hardest to make Jack into the proverbial black sheep and ultimately to instigate a closer look into his service record, possibly in the hope that he would be summarily dismissed from the USAF via a Court-Martial.

Sam snapped open her cell phone and dialled General Hammond.

"I know Major," he sighed as soon as he knew who it was calling him. "I've already talked this over with the President and explained as much about this incident as I could. He said he would start an investigation and that we should prepare a statement to the contrary," Hammond replied in answer her obvious consternation over the report.

They spoke for several minutes until Sam was sure that Jack's good name would be restored.

"Yes sir," she sighed, knowing that until the next morning's paper came out, there was nothing they could do about the account for now, except accept the President's word that he would start an inquiry into it.

"Well? What did the General have to say?" Daniel asked when Sam had flipped her cell phone off.

"We can't do anything right now. General Hammond has been told to formulate a statement, to be released to the press in time for tomorrow morning's issue. That, and the President gave his word that they will get to the bottom of this."

"That's it? What about Jack's reputation? To say nothing of the raking he'll get for striking a senior officer?"

"The President said that no action would be taken against him for jumping the General, and they will ignore the unwarranted references to the Colonel's past where Charlie is concerned."

"Well let's hope that the General can manage to persuade the press that they had this all wrong."

"So do we all Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added, far from feeling happy that his friend's name had been besmirched.

OoOoOoOoO

He drifted to the surface on a wave of dull, vague pain. He couldn't breathe; something was blocking his throat. Panic rose up in him and he fought to control his breathing. His arms felt too heavy to lift, and one felt as if it was tied down, the other too painful to move. He couldn't understand what had happened to him and his concern for his team escalated. He just couldn't for the life of him remember getting captured or even, for that matter, what planet he was on.

There was a soft voice, familiar, and soothing. Then a gentle hand began smoothing his brow, and another holding onto his wrist. The urgent but caring words telling him not to struggle; that everything was okay, and that he had a tube down his throat to help him breathe. The voice also told him that his team was safe.

A ventilator, he realised as soon as the words fell into place in his frantic mind. He was on a ventilator. He must, therefore, be in the Infirmary. His struggling ceased and he relaxed knowing his team were okay. He drifted free for a moment, then fell back into the darkness, feeling safe.

Janet, smoothed back the damp hair from Jack's forehead, hoping to get through to him; that he needed to calm down. At her soft words and actions he did so, and she watched as he drifted off to sleep again.

Sam looked up at her from the chair beside the bed and Janet's smile reassured her that he was going to be okay.

"I think when he wakes up the next time, we'll take the tube out,"

"That's a little early isn't it? I mean, will he be able to breathe okay?"

"He's past the danger point now Sam. I think he'll manage on his own quite well. I've kept him sedated for a couple of days now, and if it proves not to be the case, then I can always put it back in, but you know how much he hates this thing anyway. If I can take it out as soon as possible, then we'll both be happier and he'll feel much more comfortable."

Janet fussed around with the monitors and checked his pulse/ox one more time, just to be sure her patient was indeed okay, then after giving him another dose of medication, she left Sam to watch over him.

Despite the earliness of the hour, it was only a matter of minutes when the door opened and John and Melissa entered. They greeted Sam warmly, Melissa even hugging her.

"How is he today Sam?" Melissa asked, watching the still form of her son to see if she could see any improvement.

"He roused a little a few moments ago, but he never actually woke up. He drifted straight off to sleep again. Janet says she'll be taking the tube out next time he wakes. So on the whole, I think he must be on the mend at last."

"Oh that's wonderful," Melissa sighed happily. She moved to the head of the bed and leaned over her son, kissing his forehead and straightening the bed clothes, chatting away to him as if he were already awake.

Sam couldn't help smiling at the obvious affection Melissa had for Jack. It made her miss her own mother terribly but she was still happy to see it none the less. She wondered what Jack would make of it all when he finally awoke to find Melissa fussing over him as well as Janet. Knowing him he'd probably hate it. She quickly made her excuses and left them to it.

Daniel was asleep on the cot in Janet's office and she took him in a cup of coffee to wake him.

"Hmmm! Coffee, thanks!" Daniel sighed rousing from his slumber.

He sat up and grabbed his favourite nectar, inhaling deeply and savouring the aroma, before taking a tentative sip in case it was too hot.

"Ahhh!" he sighed again smacking his lips in appreciation, all ready to face another day when he'd drained the cup. "Thanks Sam. How's Jack?"

"He's doing okay Daniel. He roused a little earlier and Janet said she'd take the tube out next time."

"That's great!"

"John and Melissa are with him now. That's why I came away. Teal'c is still standing sentinel outside his room, he won't let anyone in there unless it's us or the Colonel's family, or Janet or the General of course."

"How's Joe?"

"I don't know Daniel. I didn't really get chance to talk to John this morning. They were eager to see how the Colonel was doing," she answered, taking a long gulp of her own coffee.

"The last time I heard anything, he wasn't too happy about being kept out of the way," Daniel recalled. "The guards say he's been going stir crazy shut away in one of the guest rooms underneath Cheyenne mountain. I think General Hammond would be only too happy to fill him in on a few details about what exactly Jack does there. I perfectly understand why anyone would actually want to shoot the man. No wonder Jack wasn't too happy to know he was going to be there that night too."

Sam laughed softly in remembrance of Jack's pleas to be excused from attending, but the laughter died in her throat before she could think about it too much. Maybe Jack would still be in one piece if he'd been excused from attending, but then Joseph O'Neill would most likely be dead. The fact that Jack was lying there instead of his uncle was not lost on her, and she felt helpless, and yet relieved that he was improving each day that passed.

She hated the thought that she could so easily have lost him this time, she didn't want him to die. Twice in just over two weeks he'd come so close. First the spear piercing his shoulder, and the consequent stoning from those natives, now this. She was also dreading the old saying that things always happen in threes, wondering what else he was in for? She filled with dread at the thought.

"Penny for them?" Daniel roused her from her inner thoughts.

"Sorry Daniel, I was miles away."

"I noticed."

He sidled closer and put his arm around her, hugging her weary frame.

"He'll be fine!" he added.

"I know...it's just that...this is the second time Daniel in just a few short days. Twice we've come close to losing him, I'm kinda dreading there's gonna be a third time. I know that sounds silly, but..."

"That's just a old saying Sam. It doesn't always work out that way."

"I couldn't stand it if he..."

"He's not gonna die Sam! He's getting better, and nothing else is going to happen to him."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry...I'm just silly...I'm just worried about him that's all."

"Yeah, you and me both Sam."

TBC


	11. Just Who is the Real Hero?

_Sitting here typing this with my tail tucked between my legs... I know I promised to update every day, and I'm soooooo sorry I missed out on yesterday's chapter. I feel extremely guilty over that. If you have to blame someone, then that would be my Hubby – he refused to let me sign on yesterday, which was only common sense really. I did mention I'd had a bad day before, but yesterday it was much worse. I couldn't even look at the monitor at all, and I thought my head was going to drop off! Feeling better now, though I doubt I'll be on here for long, unfortunately._

_Hope you all enjoy this chapter – it has a little bit of action, and yep... a cliff-hanger ending. If all goes well, I will post tomorrow! If not, does that mean I can expect a lynch mob knocking on my door? _

_Thanks as always for your reviews! Keep them coming please...I can't live without them! I'm adicted to reviews - as well as Jack O'Neill!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

"Yeah, you and me both Sam."

Chapter 11 - Just Who is the Real Hero?

The sight that greeted Jack when he opened his eyes this time was not one that he expected. Janet had already removed the ventilator for him, though it barely registered at the time because all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep again. Lying hurt in a hospital bed under normal circumstances - if one could label getting shot or hurt as normal - he would have woken to see one of his team-mates sitting vigil at his bedside, but as he recalled the latest events that caused him to be lying there, he supposed that it was only natural to find someone else there in their stead.

Jack smiled sadly at the lone figure of his father, sighing with regret that he'd had to witness what was probably to him a very traumatic incident. He remembered the sheer look of horror on his face just before he'd succumbed to the darkness. He felt the older man's hand holding his so he squeezed it gently, making his custodian jerk awake.

"Hi Dad!" he croaked through dry lips, surprised at how weak his voice sounded.

"Jonathon! It's so good to see you awake at last. How are you feeling?"

Without having to be asked, John took the cup of water and placed the straw by Jack's lips, only taking it away when Jack nodded his thanks.

"It feels like I got hit with a truck!" he huffed, feeling sore. "You okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. It's you we're worried about," he replied.

Jack winced as he moved, lifting his head to look down at his heavily strapped shoulder and chest.

"No need to Dad. I'll be just fine. Been there, done that, yadda, yadda! How's Joe?"

"Feeling excessively guilty!"

Jack was surprised at that. This was Joseph O'Neill his uncle they were talking about wasn't it? The same pompous asshole? The one that kicked the crap out of him when he was down...literally!

"Joe? Guilty?"

John laughed at the look of disbelief on Jack's face.

"Now you heard me perfectly well Jonathon. He didn't realise you were protecting him at the time. He thought you were attacking him."

"Who said I wasn't!" Jack quipped wishing he had. "I sooo wanted to kick his ass!"

"I know you would son, I've felt that way too on occasions, but you didn't, did you? You saved his life instead, and for that we're all grateful. He also apologised for the things he'd said, by the way. I don't somehow think he'll be the same after this. I think he's finally realised just the sort of man you really are now. At long last he's accepted that you aren't that scrawny little kid that always got into scrapes anymore, and that the USAF has been privileged to have you among its number. He's eager to see you and apologise to you in person."

Jack wasn't all that sure that the man would change that radically after just one attempt on his life and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to see him at all. Ever.

John smiled down at his son, thankful to see that he was doing well, and then he pressed the call button, making Jack frown at him.

"I'm fine..." Jack began but John interrupted him.

"I'm supposed to let them know you're awake," he explained.

"So how's Mom?" Jack asked changing the subject as he was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way the conversation had been heading; as he always did when people started singing his praises.

"She's fine now; now she's over the initial shock of this, and she knows you're getting better now which is helping." John said waving a hand at Jack's chest. "She's gone shopping for some groceries with Sam. Did you know, all the food in your fridge was spoiled? There was nothing to eat at all in the house when she arrived!"

Jack huffed in amusement, well able to imagine his mother's exact words about not him eating properly as well as good food going to waste; but he'd ended up wincing again when taking a deep breath had hurt. John placed a hand on his good shoulder to comfort him.

"That's hardly anything new Dad. I haven't been home in almost..." he paused, trying to calculate just how long he'd been away. "Just how long have I been in here?" he asked suddenly aware that he didn't even know what day it was.

"It's been over three days since you got shot son. It's Tuesday afternoon now," he smiled softly, seeing Jack trying to work something out in his head.

"Damn! I missed the game!"

John laughed at that. It was just so typical of his son to fret about a Hockey game when others had been anxious watching over him lying there badly wounded. Jonathon never was concerned about himself always putting others first...or his beloved game.

"Don't you worry yourself about that Jonathon," he said, pausing for a moment when Janet entered the room. "Daniel had already set up your VCR., so you can see it later."

Jack relaxed again in relief, thinking he would have to make it up to Daniel at some stage in the near future. It was gonna cost him dearly, he knew that much.

"Colonel," Janet greeted him, and gave John a beaming smile. "How are you feeling?" she asked her patient, not surprising him at all with the inevitable question.

"Just peachy Doc!" he said, suffering her ministrations as she gave him the usual check over.

"Well, you need to get plenty of rest sir. Your pulse is still a little too fast," she said gently dropping his wrist back onto the bed.

Before he could argue that he was feeling just fine, she was adding something to his drip and he began to feel a warmth flooding through his veins, and he found himself unable to keep his eyelids open.

He fought the effects, as usual.

"For cryin' out loud Doc! I jus'...I jus' woke uuupppp!" he slurred, half asleep already.

Janet merely patted his good shoulder.

"Rest Colonel, you need to heal. We'll still be here when you wake up."

"I wasssawakke," he mumbled crossly.

His eyes finally stayed shut. He was well and truly asleep to Janet's satisfaction. She took hold of John's arm and gently propelled him towards the door.

"He'll be out for a little while now, so I want you to go and get something to eat and then get some rest yourself. He's no longer in any danger, and he'll be just fine. Believe me I know how to look after the Colonel!"

Just then he heard voices, then looked up in time to see Melissa and Sam walking down the corridor towards them.

They greeted each other warmly and finding that Jack had woken up for a few minutes, but was now asleep again, was good news, if a little disappointing that he'd gone back to sleep already. Both ladies had wanted to see him and talk to him for a moment. Instead, Sam took John to the restaurant for a meal while Melissa slipped into the room to sit with her son, feeling greatly relieved, and much happier with his progress.

OoOoOoOoO

Another three days later Jack lay propped up against the pillows in bed, trying to read over his press statement...the one that Sam had typed out on her laptop for him when he'd dictated that night's events to her. After he'd recovered a little more and Janet had finally stopped putting him back to sleep as soon as he'd woken up, he'd read for himself the scandalous newspaper report, feeling not only shocked and disgusted that they could use this to dredge up the past which he'd kept private even from his team, but angry and almost murderous at the sheer audacity of the editor to allow such blatant fabrication.

Besmirching his reputation he could live with; those who knew him, especially General Hammond and his team, would ignore the slight against his character. But it was for Sara his concerned had mounted. How must she be feeling over this terrible report that must have reawakened the deep pain of Charlie's death? His own pain over the death of his son was still an ugly wound in his soul, so how bad must Sara be feeling?

In answer to the accusations it was felt he should make his own statement to the media about the incident outside the venue. He had no intention of mentioning the past incidents. If someone was out to sully his good name then so be it, but there would be no reference at all to Charlie's premature demise; no way, no how! So, at his request, Sam had brought her laptop in and sat with him, going through the details as he'd recalled them.

It wasn't easy balancing the several sheets of paper, containing his report, on his knees and with one arm still strapped to his side and waist, and, much to his frustration, some of the papers escaped his one-handed wrestling match and fluttered gently to the floor in the slight breeze when the door opened.

"Agh dammit!" he exclaimed when the papers disappeared off the side of his bed, wondering how he was going to retrieve them. He looked up at his visitor with hope before he registered who it was and sighed with mild annoyance.

"Joe," Jack greeted his visitor coolly, still unsure of his uncle's seeming about-turn attitude towards him. He was supposed to be a changed man as far as his family were concerned; though how long that would last, Jack wondered, was another matter.

"Jonathon, m'boy. How're ya feeling?"

"Oh…ya know, just peachy. Look d'ya think you could pick those papers up for me without it evolving into an argument?" Jack asked pointing to the floor on the other side of the bed in front of the window.

Joe cast him a withering look at that acerbic comment, but did step round to the other side of the bed and knelt down with a grunt to retrieve the errant paperwork.

"Sure! No problem," Joe sighed, knowing he was going to have his work cut out to make his nephew accept his apology and improve their kinship.

Once more the door opened and this time Jack got an eyeful of a giant of a man. A man who would make Teal'c look puny, and whom Jack recognised straight away. Jack eyed him suspiciously, wondering where the damn alarm bell was, and remembering it was on the table out of reach. He sucked in a breath when he spotted the pistol fitted with a silencer attached pointing straight at himself, and it was held by the same man he'd seen trying to shoot his uncle outside the building where the seminar was held. The unwelcome visitor closed the door softly behind him. His eyes never leaving his target, and not realising Joe was there too.

"You!" Jack cried, recognising the gunman, and startling Joe with his sudden yell.

"You are so gonna die O'Neill!" the gunman sneered.

Joe, quickly realising the danger, kept low, hidden from view by the bed between them, and was listening intently, waiting for his chance to take the SOB down.

"What?" Jack gasped. "Why? I thought you were after the General?"

"What? That old fart? Who'd want to bother about him?" he chuckled, alerting Jack's defences. "We knew you'd protect the old bastard. We felt like making you work for your own death. But, that attempt obviously failed, so I'm not missing this time O'Neill."

He levelled the gun again, taking careful aim; he had to get it right this time; the boss wasn't very happy to learn that O'Neill had survived.

But, weak though he was, Jack wasted no time. He ripped out the IV needle, stumbled from the bed and threw himself at the man, trying to stop him, but he didn't quite manage it. As weak as a day old kitten, Jack was ruthlessly tossed aside while the man steadied himself after getting pushed against the wall. He was soon taking aim again.

Jack had landed heavily onto his injured shoulder, the agony of that and coupled with his chest wound made his vision blur and fade. For what seemed overly long moments, he could hardly breathe, let alone call move or for help.

He'd forgotten about Joe though in his desperate bid to escape the gunman, but Joe had heard everything, waiting for his chance to pay his debt, and when Jack yelped in pain, he dashed round from behind the cover of the bed. He dived straight at the man, taking him down, but the pistol fired with a soft phutt before it flew from his hand. The two men tumbled, landing awkwardly on the floor but still fighting for possession of the weapon where it lay just out of reach.

Jack managed to roll over on the floor, panting hard against the agony eating him up, and although he felt like screaming in pain, he did manage to grab the pistol that had been knocked aside by Joe. Placing the gun in his useless hand, he shakily staggered to his feet by pulling on the side of the bed and leaning against it. Once upright he took the gun into his other hand but was difficult for him to aim straight at the tangled mass of writhing bodies. He really didn't want to hit Joe.

The pain and weakness in his limbs made lining up a shot almost impossible too. Then suddenly he realised that the General had now been pinned underneath and the man had grabbed Joe's head and was smashing it into the floor over and over. The action quickly stunned the ageing General. When Joe lay dazed, the assassin then drew out a large knife from his belt and was about to bring it down hard into the General's chest, and at that point Jack knew he couldn't hesitate any longer; time had just run out.

With his vision rapidly blurring...

...he fired.

TBC


	12. Secrets & Suspicion

_Hi there everyone, thanks for all your reviews, as always. Here's another chapter of the story – hope you enjoy it too. I may even get around to posting another one tonight to make up for missing yesterday as well. Sorry!_

_There's not many to go now, just 14 in all, so you know it's nearing the end._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

With his vision rapidly blurring...

...he fired.

Chapter 12 – Secrets and Suspicion

The fight came to an abrupt halt. Joe was lying limp and still, trying even now to regain his senses. The gunman climbed to his feet and turned towards Jack, standing over the General still lying motionless on the floor at his feet. He took a step towards Jack, bringing up the hand that still held the knife. Stepping closer there was a menacing, even, evil look etched into his craggy features.

For one terrifying moment Jack thought that he had shot his uncle instead, so he fired again, twice in quick succession as the man approached him. The assassin's face creased in agony and surprise as he dropped to his knees. His eyes rolled back and he fell forwards onto his face, landing at Jack's feet.

There was no doubt left in Jack's mind now. The SOB was oh so dead.

Joe came to, muttering in pain as he pushed himself up slowly while holding his head with one hand, but there was a huge grin on his face when he saw the gunman's inert body lying there.

"Seems like I owe you again...Jack!" he said, surprising Jack by the use of his preferred name.

"Don't speak too soon Joe," Jack replied slowly, thankful that Joe was alive and apparently unharmed; meaning he hadn't shot him by mistake.

Jack was now wavering on his feet. The gun slipped from his trembling fingers, clattering loudly on the floor, as he clung desperately to the side of the bed.

Joe reacted as soon as he saw Jack's knees fold and he reached his nephew just in time to catch him before he could fall and injure himself further.

Joe yelled at the top of his lungs for help and hefted the now limp form of his nephew to lay him back onto the bed.

The door swung open with a crash as Teal'c barged through first; a zat gun primed and ready in his hand. He was followed immediately by Daniel, Sam, Janet and General Hammond. John with his arm around a very worried Melissa stood paralysed with fear by the open door.

Joe was just straightening Jack's legs onto the bed, when they entered, clambering to know what was going on.

"Jack shot him, but the SOB must have hurt him, he's bleeding again," Joe explained to a chorus of surprised gasps, and all eyes dropped to look down at the blood-spattered body lying on the floor.

Janet made a bee-line for the Colonel, needing to know if he'd been injured in any way. Teal'c held the zat gun ready to shoot the gunman if he so much as tried anything, while Sam stooped to check for a pulse.

"He's dead," she confirmed, standing back watching while Janet fussed at Jack's side.

She tore off the bloodstained bandages from his shoulder, to see how much damage he'd done.

"Oh thank god!" she exclaimed with relief. "He hasn't been shot, but he's bleeding heavily again. The stitches of the old wound have opened right up and I'll need to close this. Okay, I want everybody to clear the room!" she barked, shooing them away and calling for her staff who were hovering outside the door, through lack of space.

Two orderlies soon entered the room with a gurney and a body bag and very soon took away the dead body. Then two nurses came in with fresh dressings and sterile instruments for Janet to set to work putting Jack back together again.

Meanwhile, the stunned group made their way back into the waiting room, impatient to hear an explain from Joe as to what happened, but he appeared to be in shock.

"Are you okay Joe?" John asked, concerned when the General slumped down in a seat, his gaze vacant. "Joe?"

Daniel handed him a cup of coffee and John made sure Joe sipped it.

Joe shook his head in disbelief, coming out of his stupor.

"Jack recognised him. I heard it in his voice."

"You think perhaps that was the assassin from the other night?"

"Yes, it was. But... apparently he wasn't after me," he said bewildered. "The whole time he was after Jack! He was aiming at Jack! All this time I though the bastard was after me, but he was really after Jack! The guy said, they knew he'd do anything to stop me getting killed. They wanted to make it look like they were after me, because they knew he would react as he did. What the hell for? What has he done that warrants a goddamn attempt on his life?" Joe demanded growing angry. "What the hell are you guys into? Jack almost got killed for cryin' out loud!"

Everyone turned their eyes towards General Hammond, expectantly.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you anything General O'Neill. Everything that goes on under Cheyenne Mountain is classified."

"Bullshit!"

"Joe!" Melissa cried in shock.

"I don't give a damn Melissa. He..."

"Jonathon's a grown man with more than 30 years service in the USAF, Joe! And he's not your child! And are you now admitting that you have somehow deserved the attention of an assassin too?" Melissa snapped, knowing she had a valid point.

Joe glared at her, willing her to butt out, but she refused to back down.

"I will admit that Jack has done some damned uncomfortable covert operations in the past when he served with Black Ops, and that in itself has earned him a few enemies; however, the gunman is dead now, so we can only hope that this will be the end of it," Hammond stated optimistically, hoping it would allay Jack's relations from further probing. Though he himself thought that they deserved to know something by which to understand Jack's past in the service of his country. Joe at least should understand what he was driving at.

"I...um...don't think that will be the case General," Daniel interrupted, suddenly feeling like an intruder at a party when everyone turned their hard gazes onto him.

"What?" Sam choked. "Daniel?"

"Let's put it this way, if the man had outside contacts, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered that their man was dead and that Jack was still alive, so they would in all probability, try again; don't you think? Now, we don't know who this guy was, nor do we know exactly who was behind all of this. It's, therefore, my considered opinion that this man wasn't working on his own General, and I think in the light of recent events, I can take a pretty good guess at just who it is we're dealing with here. And knowing that, I think it's safe to assume that he won't rest until Jack is finally out of the way." Daniel expounded.

"You mean Kin...?" Sam began before stopping short. "That man?"

"Oh...I wouldn't call him a man Sam," Daniel sighed regretfully. "he's too much of a grovelling coward to be labelled a man."

"Do you really think it is 'him' behind all this, Dr. Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"I am in agreement with Daniel Jackson, General Hammond," Teal'c added. "The man in question was most put out with O'Neill on the occasion of their most recent meeting."

General Hammond sighed. He knew it of course, and could easily recall the words that the Senator had threatened Jack with when SG-1 refused to make nice with the Aschen.

//'_What in God's name is going on here?' _Demanded an irate Kinsey, coming to stand almost nose to nose with Jack.

'_When they knew we were on to them, they launched a Bio-weapon,' _Sam had reported to the General and her team.

'_Colonel!' _Kinsey snapped angrily.

'_I had to warn you!' _Sam then continued,_ 'I couldn't wait for the Ambassador.'_

'_Colonel. I asked you a question!' _Kinsey had ranted, obviously livid that he was being ignored even face to face.

'_You did good, Major!' _Jack replied, blotting out Kinsey's anger and the Senator himself.

'_Thank you sir,' _Sam said, wincing as the medic probed her shoulder.

'_Let's get her to the infirmary, now!' _Hammond had ordered.

'_Colonel!' _Kinsey was growing even more angry at being mistreated by a mere Colonel._ 'I swear O'Neill, there's gonna be an investigation into this!'_

The senator had turned on his heel and stormed out of the gate-room, but Jack's eyes had followed him and he couldn't resist taunting the man further.

'_Well that's fine. O'Neill...with two 'L's!'//_

Daniel's response to that had appeared so innocent at the time, now to Hammond it seemed almost prophetic in a sense.

_//'Well, I guess we dodged a bullet there!' _Daniel had sighed.

'_Senator Kinsey appears most displeased' _Teal'c observed.

'_Yeah, that's a cryin' shame, isn't it?' _Jack had responded without a trace of sympathy.//

Could these attempts really be all Kinsey's doing? He wouldn't put it past the man to use fair means or foul to get his own way in eventually turning Stargate Command over to the NID, and ultimately into his own hands if he could.

"So what you're saying," John interrupted. "is that my son is still in danger?" It started Hammond's thoughts reeling, unable to deny that possibility.

General Hammond turned to the Professor and nodded; Jack was still in danger; so how should they proceed now? he wondered.

"I'm afraid that may still be the case sir," he sighed, unhappy with the way things were turning out.

OoOoOoOoO

'FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT!'

Ran the headline in the next day's paper. Hammond having decided that the failed attempt should be made public knowledge in the hopes that the perpetrator(s) would either make a renewed effort to finish the job or forget all about it. The only problem with the latter aspect was, that the threat would always be there in the background and Jack would be forever looking over his shoulder. However, Hammond hoped it would provoke some sort of reaction and bring about a favourable result.

Senator Robert Kinsey threw the newspaper down onto his desk in disgust after reading through the headlined report, and also Jack's statement about the original shooting outside the venue. The Senator was angry that his attempt to take out O'Neill yet again had failed miserably and worse, was that the SGC now knew what to look out for. He wasn't so naive as to think that they wouldn't assume he was behind this. They weren't stupid. They had to know how much he detested O'Neill. That he was probably behind this incident was a foregone conclusion, but so far he was sure that they wouldn't be able to pin a thing on him.

And what was it with that annoying man anyway? Was he indestructible? Assuming of course that it was the same man they were talking about. After all they were meddling with alien technology; so did they know something that he didn't? Something which Hammond and his simpering team had discovered and were keeping to themselves. The very idea riled him even further. He hated O'Neill with a vengeance so deep it was almost painful. He'd take the interfering SOB down himself if he could, but he was a Senator and couldn't afford to get his hands dirty. He had bigger things to worry about; namely the slippery path he was treading on his way to the White House. He **would** become President one day, and then Hammond and his cohorts would be tossed out of the SGC before they could even say 'Stargate'!

Kinsey grabbed the phone and dialled a number that he knew off by heart. It was much better to know these things without having any written evidence of shady dealings lying around. A man in his position couldn't be caught with incriminating evidence hanging about, especially not after the fiasco over Hammond's forced retirement. Back then he had been stupid enough to keep a record of all his dealings on his computer. He knew better now. There would be nothing to incriminate him this time. He was furious that O'Neill still had that implicating disc hanging over him like the proverbial 'sword of Damocles'.

"'Vengeance is mine', saith the Lord!" he quoted to himself smugly as he waited for a certain someone to pick up the phone.

He would be righteously avenged!

TBC


	13. By Fair Means or Foul

_As I'd promised, here's another chapter for you tonight. Might not get on here tomorrow, so that's one of the main reasons. Another one being that there are storms around and we might get a power cut as we usually tend to when there's lightning around. _

_Only one more chapter to go! A longer one too. Hope you enjoy this one. Thank you as always for your wonderful reviews. I really do appreciate getting them. They just brighten up my day so much! Thanks!_

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

"'Vengeance is mine', saith the Lord!" he quoted to himself smugly as he waited for a certain someone to pick up the phone.

He would be righteously avenged!

Chapter 13 – By Fair Means or Foul

The nurse was extremely busy but she did look up at the youngish woman in front of the nurses' station. She didn't have much time to spare though, as there had been yet another emergency, to add to the other two. One of the other nurses had gone off somewhere and hadn't yet returned, making it harder for her to keep up with things; and to top it all off, one of the patient's records had gone missing from the files, and her computer was screwed up. It just wasn't her day.

"Can I help you miss?" she asked a little impatiently.

The woman looked round the huge vase of flowers at the harried nurse.

"Sure," she drawled in her thick New York accent. "I gotta deliver these to a Colonel Jack O'Neill!" She shrugged with a deep sigh, adding. "They're from a Professor and Mrs. O'Neill."

"Look, you'll have to leave them here. I don't have time to take them into him right now."

"That's okay, sweetie, you jus' go right ahead with what you was doin'. Jus' point me in the right direction. I don't mind. I got plen'ya time"

"Right, thanks. He's in room one-sixteen down the corridor and round the corner to your left. There's guard outside but tell him I sent you along."

"Okay!"

She wandered off looking at the numbers on the door, until she turned a corner and could spot the guard sitting on a chair. She assumed that this would be the right room.

The security detail stood up as she approached, his hand resting on the butt of his weapon.

"I gotta deliver these to Colonel O'Neill," she informed him as he studied her. "Look, I don't care what your job is soldier, but this is mine. I jus' deliver this stuff. In and out that's all I care about. You can come in too if you don't trust me!" she sighed.

He nodded and opened the door. Jack was asleep, having had another busy morning with the therapist, and he'd been in a lot of pain after the gentle exercises for his healing shoulder and chest, as well as for his recovering knee injury. Janet had slipped him some pain relief a little while ago and he'd succumbed to its drowsing effect.

The woman indicated the bedside table, and the guard sighed, but he cleared the away the clutter of papers, placing them onto the over-bed table at the foot of O'Neill's bed. She hummed softly, batting her eyelids at the soldier who seemed mesmerised by her low cut top and her very short skirt. She placed the vase on the table and primped the flowers into order with a few seductive wiggles of her hips, before turning and leaving the room with a coy flutter of her eyes and a sexy smile. The guard followed her out and resumed his seat as she walked away, unable to take his eyes off her.

OoOoOoOoO

Melissa O'Neill walked along the corridor, her arm linked round John's for support. Getting old was certainly no fun, and she was feeling the effects of all the worrying she'd done over her Jonathon.

The nurse looked up and smiled as they stopped for a moment to chat and find out the latest news on their son. This time the nurse had no problems with that; things had begun to calm down again. The missing nurse had returned, the emergencies were being dealt with and the missing file had been found again, having been taken by the absent nurse by mistake, though she was still waiting for someone to come along and sort out her computer for her.

"How is he today?" Melissa asked.

"He's doing well actually. Dr. Frasier says that she may release him into your care tomorrow."

"Oh that's wonderful. It will be so good to have him at home again; even if it is his own home," she laughed.

"The flowers you sent were really lovely," the nurse commented. "You just missed the delivery woman by a few minutes."

"Flowers? What flowers?" they asked, wondering if she'd got them mixed up with someone else.

The nurse gasped in puzzlement. If they hadn't sent the flowers, then who would do so? Just then an alarm on the desk wailed and she pressed the emergency button to call for the doctors even as she took off for O'Neill's room in a rush.

As soon as she opened the door, she and the security guard started coughing. The guard clamped a hand over his mouth, hurried to the windows and pushed them open to let the fresh air in, and the gas out. The nurse quickly took the vase of flowers and tossed it out of the open window onto the garden below. The gas then quickly dissipated from the room.

Melissa and John stood by helplessly, coughing in the doorway, but watching all the frantic actions, realising at once that someone had tried another assassination attempt on their son. They were hurriedly pushed aside when the doctor and staff ran into the room in answer to the emergency.

Another nurse pulled them away and led them back to the waiting room, but the last thing they saw was Jack's still form and one of the doctors pounding on his chest as he attempted CPR while another placed an oxygen mask over his face.

OoOoOoOoO

The elevator descended ever lower and two of the occupants wondered just how far down they were actually going. The tiny car jerked quietly to a halt and the doors opened to reveal Janet Frasier.

She smiled at the little group and invited them to follow her.

The armed security guards followed them closely as they made their way towards the ISO room, and although it felt uncomfortable to be escorted in this way, they knew it was all because it was the only way to ensure Jack's safety, and because they, by being there, had posed a threat to the base's secrecy; General Hammond had been very clear on that point, especially when he made them sign the non-disclosure forms.

Until the full identity of the perpetrator had been discovered and dealt with, it was thought that this was the only way things could go from here onwards.

Jack looked up from his position on the ISO bed and smiled through the oxygen mask at his parents. He gave them a small wave as they entered the room.

Melissa bent over and kissed him on the forehead; her palm gently caressing his cheek. She pulled away in time for John to grasp his son's free hand, ever careful of the IV needle protruding from the back of it.

"How are you Jonathon?" Melissa asked, though she could see for herself that he was much improved from the last time they had seen him.

There had been a positive hive of activity after they doctor's had stabilized him from the poisonous gas incident. The canister, they discovered, had been discreetly hidden beneath the flowers in the vase, filling the room with obnoxious gas when the delivery woman had activated it. So far they had found no trace of either her or her bogus floral company.

After that, it was decided to move him to the infirmary beneath the mountain for security reasons, and where Janet could keep a closer eye on him. His one condition to the move was that his parents shouldn't be excluded from visiting as long as they were shielded from the lower floors, he could see no problem, and Hammond had albeit reluctantly, agreed.

They would need to see him, Jack had pleaded and there was no way he could leave them out there alone to deal with any repercussions should they arise. Therefore, Hammond had ordered a couple of SF's to stick by them at all times before they had entered the mountain during a covert operation to make sure nobody had seen them leave Jack's residence or enter the Mountain. This had to work because there was no way round it, other than for Jack to retire off-world in the hopes that he would be safe.

General Joseph O'Neill had already been secreted in the guest quarters below the mountain after the earlier attempt on Jack's life, but that was before they knew for certain he wasn't the target. The President had recently given his permission to allow the General in on Earth's biggest secret project, and Hammond had spent the last couple of days showing him around and filling him in on just what it was that Jack had done for Earth and her newest allies.

Needless to say the General now saw his nephew in a completely new light altogether, and vowed that from now on, he would give him the respect he so richly deserved. If anything, he was quite proud oh the boy.

For many years now, John and Melissa had wondered what it was that their son actually did. But, just lately it had been a complete mystery even more so being stuck all this far below the surface every day. They'd never probed for any information, just accepting the fact that this was the life Jonathon had wanted to live, and had given his oath of allegiance to protect his country for. Whatever it was, they were just so proud of him, no matter what he had done in the past or whatever he would do in the future, but because of who and what he was. They could see this in the way his team interacted with him, and also those around the base who reacted to his presence the way they did. It was obvious to them that their son was someone special to these people.

"I'm fine now mom, and I don't really need this," he said pulling the mask from his face.

Janet lightly smacked his hand and replaced the oxygen mask over his mouth.

"You will leave it there Colonel. The oxygen will help your lungs recover faster."

He scowled at her but it brought a smile to her face and he could hear his mother gently laughing.

"Now, Jonathon," Melissa warned. "You do as Janet tells you."

"Mom!" Jack cried in indignation and rolled his eyes at the comment. What was he? Still a kid for cryin' out loud?

"He'll never change," Melissa commented again to nobody in particular, as she smiled wistfully, recalling the past.

Jack flushed slightly, as Janet tried hard to keep a straight face, suppressing her laughter. He shot the petite medic another quelling look, which she promptly ignored. This was going to be fun, Janet mused. Melissa would help keep him in line she was sure.

"So when can I get out of here Doc?" he asked pointedly, distracting Janet before her soft giggles could turn into full blown hysterics at his mother's, mothering.

"Not for at least another 24 hours or so Colonel."

He pouted, and frowned at this news.

"He always did hate being sick and tied to the bed Janet," Melissa said, patting his hand.

Jack caught his father's eyes and a look of sympathetic understanding passed between them.

With a broad smile on her face, Janet left them to chat with the Colonel.

OoOoOoOoO

The door to the briefing room opened causing those already seated round the conference table to look up expectantly.

General Hammond smiled and stood up, his hand already stretched out in front in greeting.

"Come in General; take a seat." he invited General O'Neill in and with a brief nod to the guards, they left his side to stand watch outside the door.

Joe shook the proffered hand and sat down in the empty chair at Hammond's elbow at the head of the table and nodded a greeting to the rest of SG-1. He was wearing his full Marine dress uniform so he fitted right in with everyone else there. He looked along the table to Teal'c, seeing for himself the tattoo embedded into his forehead and realised with a small shock that he was one of the aliens that he'd heard about. He shook his head as if trying to clear it, wondering if he was dreaming all of this. He was sure that he would wake up pretty soon.

"It's only a matter of time now, that Kinsey should make his move," Hammond confirmed.

"Is everything in place General?" Daniel asked, frowning. He sure didn't want anything to go wrong this time.

"It is. I've got extra security in force around the base."

"So do you think he actually swallowed that story sir?"

"I'm sure of it Major. I just hope he follows true to type."

"Are you so certain of his actions General Hammond?"

"If I know anything about that man, Teal'c, he'll be on his way here now. The President was most willing to make this work one way or another."

Hammond felt deeply for his premier team. They had all been shocked and dismayed at the idea of Jack being in Kinsey's gun sights as it were.

"You do have the letter General, don't you?" Sam asked Joe.

He tapped at his top pocket giving her a warm smile rather reminiscent of a certain Colonel who held onto her heart-strings and she felt assured by seeing it there. Once Joe had come round to seeing Jack for what he really was, Sam had actually begun to like him.

"Right here, Major," he grinned, accentuating her rank with a wink too.

A phone rang behind them on the far desk, startling everyone in the room, and Sergeant Davis answered it. They all shamelessly eavesdropped on the one-sided conversation.

Walter replaced the phone and came up to the General with a wide grin he just couldn't hide.

"Sir, Senator Kinsey's plane touched down at Peterson AF base 5 minutes ago and he's now on his way here in a staff car."

"Thank you Sergeant." Hammond dismissed him and smiled knowingly at his colleagues. "People, the time is at hand. You all know what to do?"

"Yes sir," came the crisp and enthusiastic replies.

"Dr. Jackson, how about some coffee while we wait?"

"Good idea General. General?" he asked turning towards Joe.

"A very good idea son. I sure hope this works!"

"Knowing Kinsey he won't be able to resist gloating about the way things had supposedly turned out."

Half an hour later and the phone call they had been expecting, came at long last.

"Places everyone," Hammond called. "The show is about to begin."

TBC


	14. Well, Did You Ever?

_Well, here it is...the final chapter. Thank you so much for staying with me all the way, and I hope you have all enjoyed the story._

"HELLO JONATHON"

by Lingren

_Previously:-_

"Places everyone," Hammond called. "The show is about to begin."

Chapter 14 – Well Did You Ever...?

Senator Kinsey stormed into the briefing room as if he owned it, glaring down at General Hammond who was seated in his usual chair.

Hammond stood up, looking surprised at this unexpected visit.

"Senator Kinsey, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company this time."

"I never thought I could experience such pleasure at what I am about to tell you General. You can pack your bags immediately General Hammond. I have an order here that says you are hereby relieved of your command," Kinsey announced, positively glowing and almost bouncing with glee.

Hammond gaped in disbelief and the members of SG-1 shot to their feet, angry with the decision and very vocal in their denial of it's existence.

Kinsey removed an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and slapped it down onto the table, ordering Hammond to read it.

General Hammond, picked it up, and noticed the official White House seal on the front, and then his name in bold letters in the centre. He tore open the envelope and read through the contents, before throwing it down onto the table in disgust.

"Sir?" Sam asked, needing to know what the letter had said.

He pushed it over to her without a word, but glared at Kinsey whilst she read it out.

It was short and to the point.

_Effective immediately, I hereby declare that the USAF is to relinquish its Command of the SGC to a civilian authority, acting under Senator Robert Kinsey's control, and that a newly appointed commander for the base will be arriving forthwith._

_All USAF and USMC officers and men will be replaced with civilian staff within a few days and they will be assigned to other Air Force bases throughout the world as seen fit. _

"Sir...this...this is..." she couldn't finish, unable to find a word to sum up her disgusted and hurt feelings.

Kinsey was almost beside himself with delight at seeing the pain of reality dawn on their faces. He'd won...the SGC was his now.

"I'm here to see that you pack up your things and leave forthwith General. You too Major Carter. I believe your new posting is to be Elmendorf in Alaska. Oh, and by the way, I'm more than happy to know that with the passing of Colonel O'Neill, there will no longer be anyone around to cause a problem here, and therefore unable to rescind these orders."

He paused for the effect of his words to sink in. He hadn't missed the solemn look on their faces as he'd mentions that now deceased obnoxious man. He couldn't have been happier.

"I shall of course, be recommending that this facility be run by someone I have personally chosen from the ranks of the NID."

Kinsey stood there with a huge smile on his lips as he watched them almost deflate from their usual smug ignorance.

"Not so fast Senator," came a booming voice from the doorway.

Kinsey swung round and gaped at the huge Marine General.

"I have my orders too Senator," he spat.

"General O'Neill. What are you doing here?" Kinsey gasped, unable to comprehend why the man was here on the base. As far as he knew, the General had had no previous dealings with the SGC. There was certainly no love lost between the two of them. Even as he knew the General's name, he'd summarily dismissed any association with his arch enemy. It was a common Irish name after all. Surely the man couldn't actually be related to that infuriatingly annoying officer?

Joe whipped out the envelope from his inside pocket and gleefully slapped it into Kinsey's hand.

"Take a look at that Senator!" he snarled, piercing the smaller man with fire in his dark eyes.

It was another letter from the White House, this time stating that any previous orders were to be ignored, thereby re-instating General Hammond as Commander of the SGC and confirming Colonel Jack O'Neill as his second-in-command.

Kinsey laughed outright, waving the paper under Joe's nose.

"This is a fake. This is not a genuine article from the President, General," he sneered. "It says here that Colonel Jack O'Neill is to be re-instated as second-in-command! There's no way he can do that, not unless he can come back from the grave."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Daniel had gasped in disbelief. "Are you saying that Jack's dead?"

"He's dead?" Sam and General Hammond both gasped in incredulity.

"When? How?" they all chorused.

Kinsey stopped gloating and looked at them with a worried frown.

"What do you people mean? Is he dead? Of course he's dead. He died in the hospital after yet another attempt on his life!"

"Are you sure about that Senator?" General Joe asked.

"What? Of course I'm damn well sure. I should know I... I have my own sources of course being in such a high position as I am as a Senator of the US Government. Jack O'Neill is dead!" Kinsey stated categorically.

"Really? Well now, that's news to me 'Senator'!"

Kinsey swung round to face the person whose voice he had grown to hate with a vengeance.

"O'Neill? What in God's name is going on here? You're supposed to be dead!"

"And just how would you know that, Kinsey?"

"Because...I...I..."

"Lost for words Senator? That's not like you at all," Jack bantered.

Kinsey stood gaping, unable to breathe, through the wrath he felt was filling his whole being.

"I would recommend you take a breath Senator, or should I say EX-Senator. Works wonders, ya know. Perhaps Doc Frasier should get you some oxygen?" Jack smirked.

The jibe worked, Kinsey inhaled deeply and growled with disdain.

"I don't know how you managed this O'Neill, but this isn't the last of it. You'll be hearing from..."

"Oh, I think it is Senator," Joe threatened. I have enough on you to put you away for a very long time, and it certainly won't be as a resident of the White House." He brandished a floppy disc, making Kinsey snarl with renewed rage. "This is a copy of the disc, my nephew downloaded from your computer. It still holds valid even today Senator. If anything else happens to...Jack here..." He laid a hand on Jack's shoulder, to show Kinsey his solidarity with his kin. "...I will publish the results. "I might add that I have also made copies of this to be delivered to several people upon my demise too, should anything untoward befall me as well."

Jack and his uncle shook hands, turning as one to look straight at Kinsey.

"There is also a little matter of a certain someone who has decided in her defence to 'sing' as it were about how a certain Senator who had paid her good money to deliver some flowers for him," the General added, taking great delight in the green colour that had replaced the bleached effect of the Senator's once ruddy face.

Without another word the bitter and infuriated Senator stormed from the room, now looking like a black thundercloud, but knew he had been well and truly trounced at his own game, again. The O'Neills' learned fast. He'd give them that. Thanks to that good-for-nothing little tart with no scruples whatsoever, they knew of his involvement in the whole affair, and someone's head was going to roll because of it.

There were several SFs waiting outside the door for him and he was escorted up to the surface where he was handcuffed and handed over to the civilian police. Ex-Senator Kinsey would be stepping down from his Presidential campaign and going into exile for a very long time.

OoOoOoOoO

As the door slammed behind him, Jack felt the adrenalin drain from his body, leaving him weak and shaky. Joe could feel the strength leech from him as they stood there, and he helped Jack over to a vacant chair, squatting down beside him.

"You okay Jack?"

"Yeah, sure. Just...a little sore," he finished off with a wave of his hand, and someone pressed a glass of water into it and Janet handed him a couple of pills. So he took a few sips of the cool refreshing water, swallowed the tablets and grinned wryly up at his friends as he held the half empty glass up to them. "Only water? After this I at least expected a drop of that fine malt whiskey which General Hammond has stashed away in the back of his drawer." He couldn't help but laugh at Hammond's surprise, but the General shook his head, giving him a chuckle.

The once tense, thick atmosphere in the room had now vanished and everyone took their seats again with much relief. It had all gone according to plan.

"Good job Colonel," Hammond said, bringing the company to order. "I don't think we'll be seeing or hearing much from him in the near future."

"Oh, I hope not," Jack replied with feeling.

"Colonel, now that Dr. Frasier has released you from the infirmary, I'm putting SG-1 on stand-down for the next two weeks. Go home Jack. Enjoy your company while you can."

"Yes sir. Though I doubt I'll get much rest with a house full of guests."

"From what I've seen of your mother Jack, I doubt you'll be doing anything _but_ resting," Hammond grinned.

Jack rolled his eyes at the thought, but smiled too. He was back on track again. The threat to his life was now over.

OoOoOoOoO

The following weekend the barbecue was in full swing. There were friends swarming all over the garden, chatting and having fun. Joe was sitting chatting to General Hammond, while Teal'c stood over the grill, tongs in hand and flipping burgers and wieners like a pro as the food cooked.

General Hammond's grand-daughters were playing with Cassie and Janet. Sam was helping Melissa with the rest of the food and drinks, while John was sitting chatting with Daniel. Life couldn't get any better than this, Jack pondered, as he watched from his patio doors. At least it could, but he wouldn't allow his mind take him there.

He walked back into his hallway, intending to have a quiet moment to himself. Tiredness and pain still plagued him and as much as he loved having everyone round, he needed to rest for a short period.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his head down, almost too weary to lift his legs onto the bed for a lie down. The pain meds had worn off, and his shoulder and chest throbbed like a nagging toothache, though he wasn't gonna to tell Janet that; she'd make such a fuss, and that so wasn't what he wanted.

He heard soft footsteps coming his way and looked up wearily in time to see Sam stop in his doorway.

"Carter? Something up?"

To Sam's ears he sounded more than just tired. Having worked alongside him for so long, she could tell he was in quite a bit of discomfort.

"No sir. I...just..."

"Hmm? What?"

"I thought you might like these sir." she said, walking into the room. She placed a glass of water into his hand and held up two of his prescribed tablets. He opened his mouth and she placed them onto his tongue, and it said a lot about how much he was hurting, because he swallowed them without a fuss.

"How did you guess?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you sir. I know when you're in pain," she responded dryly, and much to her annoyance, she'd blushed at her own words. She hadn't meant for them to come out quite like they'd sounded. "We've worked along side each other for far too long for me not to notice...sir," she explained. "And besides, I knew they were overdue."

He lay back against the pillows and she helped him by lifting his leaden feet onto the covers and slipping his shoes from his feet before sitting on the edge of the bed beside him.

"This is nice," he said, unsure about how she would take the comment after he'd uttered it.

"Yes sir," she agreed a little self-consciously.

"Uh...we're off to Minnesota tomorrow," he sighed regretfully. In one way he was looking forward to going away; going back to see all his folks at home, but he was also sad to go too, because then he'd really miss her company for those next ten days.

Without a word, his hand found hers, and she squeezed it in response, smiling shyly at the touch.

"I know."

"I don't want to go," he said suddenly.

"Why?"

"Because it means I won't get to see you until I get home again in almost two weeks."

"You'd really miss me that much, so you'd rather stay home? Miss out on seeing the rest of your family?"

"In a heartbeat Sam."

"Then that's...good to know si...Jack," she responded softly, giving his fingers another squeeze.

"It is?"

"I'd miss you too!" she confessed.

"Even though I'm...well, not as dumb as I've made out in the past?"

"Even more so."

Jack closed his eyes, pushing his head back into the pillows and sighed again. How was he going to break the news to his parents that he wanted nothing more than to stay at home and be nursed by Sam Carter.

"Jonathon?"

Jack eyes shot open and he turned his head to see his mother standing in the doorway. He released Sam's hand guiltily, and went to sit up.

She hurried into the room as Sam stood awkwardly, embarrassed to be discovered in his bedroom like a naughty schoolgirl.

Melissa laid a hand on her arm though, preventing her from leaving the room. With the other hand she stopped Jack from rising, forcing him to stay where he was.

"Look, I'm sorry dears, but I really couldn't help overhearing you both. So, I have a little suggestion to make."

Jack looked up at his mother and frowned. Now what sort of torture had she thought up? he wondered.

"You obviously don't want to be parted. And I'm not blind Jonathon, so it's no use in hiding the fact from me. I can see what there is between you two and yes, I know it's against the Air Force's regulations. I've already spoken to Daniel and Murray on the quiet, and we're all agreed. It will do you both good."

"Mom? Just what did you discuss with my team and what will do us both good?" Jack asked impatiently, propping himself up onto his good elbow. What was she up to now?

"Oh, didn't I say?"

"No, you didn't!" he replied exasperated.

"That Sam comes back to Minnesota with us of course," she said, as if that was an everyday occurrence. "You're both on leave, and you'll have all the privacy you could possibly want up there." She looked from one to the other waiting for someone to say something, but they were both momentarily stunned, looking at each other to see if that was what the other wanted.

"You will come won't you my dear?" she begged, turning to Sam with a smile. "Please say you will. Jonathon needs this and he's already stated he doesn't want to go if you're still here in Colorado Springs."

Sam was speechless. Here she was, being given a wonderful opportunity to be with Jack, and far away from prying eyes.

Jack looked up at her expectantly; waiting for her answer.

She looked into his deep set eyes, pleading silently for her to accept the invitation.

"You really want me to come?" she asked softly. The question was answered by both Melissa and Jack at the same time.

"Of course my dear."

"More than anything Sam."

She found his hand again and covered it with the other one, looking into his chocolate eyes, seeing his very soul laid bare, and his love for her was plainly evident.

"Then how can I refuse. Thank you, I'd love to join you."

Jack relished the sensation of happiness that swelled through his very being. Sam was going away with him, and right now that's all that mattered.

Melissa looked down at them with an indulgent smile, then turned away and quietly left the room, unseen by either of them, content to see her son so happy at last.

Sam cupped his cheek gently in her palm, her affection written so clearly on her face now that she knew exactly where she stood.

Jack revelled in the sensation of being loved and closed his eyes to savour the moment. He was surrounded by his extended family, glad to know that they were all getting along just fine together. Never had he imagined that they would, especially Joe who had become almost as dear to him now as was his own father.

His happiness now complete, the last thing he was aware of, was a warm kiss to his brow and a whispered 'I love you!' from the one person in his life that he adored above all others, and then, letting go with a deep contented sigh, he allowed sleep to claim him.

The End.

_Having finished posting this, I am looking at revising and posting several more of my older stories on here which I doubt many of you have probably read before._

_Those of you who have read some of my older works, it would be great if you could let me know which of the stories you would most like to see posted on here._

_Thanks again – luv you guys for your wonderful comments! _


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